MAGIC BUBBLES

This is another Ger story so you can just hit the delete button now . . .

WE stayed home today because we were having a mattress delivered. I bought it on OVERSTOCK.COM for a ridiculously low price. Because it came from this Web site it was being delivered by UPS. I have been trying to get H to let me buy a new mattress for months and have gotten no where.  I finally gave up and went on the hunt on line.  I'll let you know how good a deal I got tomorrow morning.  Our old mattress was well over 10 years old and needed replacing. I can't tell you what I was dealing with this  morning from H. We went through a list of "WHAT IF'S" a mile long. I fielded all his questions with a smile and the whole delivery and set up went off without a hitch. I did cost us $20 for the 2 guys who were power washing our roof to drag the old mattress out to the curb where the garbage men will pick it up tomorrow.

In the midst of all H's worries about the mattress delivery and removal we were waiting for the power washers to arrive. The morning was passing and we had not heard from David, the chief player in this power washing plan. (David is also our "pool boy" so I had reservations about this actually happening but I at least kept my thoughts to my self.)

Just after noon the phone rang and as usual H was in his recliner in "his office". I was in the kitchen putting together some lunch so I pretty much ignored the ringing phone.  I glanced into the TV room when H dropped the phone for the second time but he seemed to have the call under control. A few minutes later H hung up the phone and yelled something into the kitchen. I turned off the water and asked what he had said. The response I got was MAGIC BUBBLES. This made little or no sense to me so I repeated my inquiry. Once again I was answered with MAGIC BUBBLES in a louder and more irritated voice. Being a glutton for stupidity I asked a THIRD time "What did you say?" rather than saying "What the F--- is Magic Bubbles and why are you yelling that at me?" By now H is nearly epileptic because I am not getting what ever Magic Bubbles means. I on the other hand am on the verge of peeing my pants from the ridiculousness of this "conversation". Thinking the entire time, "just another day in the crazy house."

Bottom line . . . . Magic Bubbles is the name of the power washing company that is coming to clean our roof and drive way and they were at the gate of our community and needing permission to come in.

House looks great, drive way looks great and hopefully my new mattress will be comfortable.

BEST "BIRD DAY" EVER !

But then,  when you have only had 2 "Bird days" in your sweet little life I guess each one just gets better and better.

Smith turned 2 on Friday, 7-27  and had his family and friends party on Saturday.    



As you can see from the photo to the right, THERE WAS CAKE!  (Abby could barely talk when she was 2 but asked if there would be cake at a party she was attending. So we must always clarify whether there was cake or not.  In this case the cake was a "cup cake pull apart" cake. And it was DELICIOUS.  Smith had to sample both the white ones and the black ones and decided he liked both vanilla AND chocolate.)
The theme of this years party was trains . . .
   CHOO CHOO  SMITH IS TWO

                               

Like last year the party was held at Kristen's place of work so it was a pool party with lots of water playing.  Unlike last year Smith had 3 of his "lady" friends come to the party and the 4 of them had a great time till one threw up in the garden and had to go home because she was feeling a bit "green". (We think she had too much juice and pool water sloshing around in her tummy. )  But that didn't slow the festivities down any. There was a lot of dancing between swims and Smith and the girls showed off their fancy two year old foot work. (I think he has been taking lessons from mom and dad!)

 But the highlight of the party was the train that arrived to take Smith and all his friends for a ride around the parking lot.

EVERYONE had a great time including the grown ups!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN.   I can't wait to see what mom comes up with for next year.

MEET SYDNEY

This is Sydney . . . .  she is an adorable 14 month old girl from Maine who is staying in Florida with either her mom or dad depending on the week.  Sydney came to Florida in May so that she could have reconstructive surgery on her deformed leg. When Sydney was born into her family of an older sister and brother she arrived with a leg that was twisted at the knee and ankle. No way would Sydney have ever been able to walk and when her mom and dad started inquiries about "fixing" Sydney's leg they were told by doctor after doctor. "AMPUTATE".
As a parent I know that would have been the last thing I would ever choose for my child. So Sydney's parents continued their search until by chance they were given the name of a doctor in West Palm Beach, Florida who has performed one of a kind surgeries on children with similar problems. Doctor Paley and his team have been working on this innovative surgery for years, starting their practice in Baltimore, MD. For what ever reasons the good doctor and most of his staff relocated to West Palm and are working out of St. Mary's hospital, just down the road from where we live. After visiting with Dr. Paley and his team Sydney's parents were told by the doctor that they would take on Sydney as a patient, possibly for as many as the next 15 years.
Now came the questions of how Sydney's family would manage living in Florida for at least 4 months while Sydney went through the initial surgery and rehab. A commute from Maine to Florida just doesn't work on a daily basis. Then there is the fact that mom and dad both work and there are 2 other children who attend school. But when it involves your child it is amazing what parents will manage.
This is about the time that Ger and I were brought into the picture. Our dear friends Gloria and John knew about Sydney because their oldest son is friends with Sydney's dad. Once Glo heard about what was going on she contacted us to see if we knew of some place where Sydney and her parents could stay for 4 months in our area in Florida. The prospect of paying $150 a night at local hotels was out of the question. Ger and I immediately thought of our sons condo just down the road from us and only 20 minutes from St. Mary's hospital. Glo sent our email address to Sydney's parents and we were off and running. Turns out our son's condo wasn't a good fit because it is on the third floor with no elevator. After her surgery Sydney would be in a "halo fixator" that is a sort of wire contraption with wires inserted into her leg bones. Carrying her and her stroller up and down 3 flights of stairs would just not work. Sooooooooooo  the next thought we had was my cousin in NY who owns a beach front condo that is usually vacant. I called my cousin, she called Sydney's dad and we had a match! My cousin even put off her vacation for a month just so Sydney's family wouldn't have to move out in the  middle of Sydney's recovery.

At this point Sydney has survived the first surgery that is straightening her knee and ankle. He leg looks almost straight which is a miracle if you had seen her before all this began. The first month was rough for all of her family.  Mom and dad were both down here at first with grand parents and extended family helping out in Maine trying to keep things normal for Sydney's siblings. Sydney was in the hospital for a while and in a lot of pain. The pain meds turned her off food so she wasn't eating and since she was just learning to eat "people" food this was a real rough time for her. Mom had to return to work, dad stayed here. Then mom came down with her dad so mom could work from Florida while grandpa took care of Sydney. Then dad came back . . .   you get the picture.
A few weeks ago the whole family was able to be in Florida together and the "big kids" (who are only 3 & 5) got to go to Disney and Kennedy Space Center. (Sydney stayed at the condo with grandpa.)

I think I would have lost my mind long before this but this family has such wonderful support from everyone they meet. Sydney's dad was telling us tonight that his good friends from college have donated all their "frequent flier miles" to him and his wife so they can afford to fly back and forth to Maine. Dad also told me about the manager at Gold's gym who got to know Dad and Sydney for the month when dad was here alone with Sydney. When Sydney's dad returned to the gym this past week with Sydney he was told that he can work out for free any time he is down here. The manager was so moved by Sydney and her family he wanted to do something to help.

And as for Sydney, she is just the tinyest little thing with HUGE blue eyes who is so easy going. Tonight we went to dinner with her and her dad and she charmed everyone around us. Like all one year olds she is pulling herself up and attempting to walk even though she has something akin to and upside down Eiffel Tower attached to her leg. Oh, and her appetite is back full time. Tonight she had baby food chicken mix, peaches, hummus and some sort of baby cheerios and she still wanted what we were having.

WAY TO GO SYDNEY !

WEEKEND FUN

We had the BEST weekend with Smith. K&K moved to a new town house this weekend and thought the move might go easier without a two year old helping them. YOU THINK? Grandma and Grandpa were more than delighted to take Smith up to our house for Friday and Saturday and we had some good times and lots of laughs.
TWO YEAR OLDS ARE FUNNY LITTLE PEOPLE !  In case you didn't know. Once kids get going to school full time they become jaded and learn to watch what they say. (Or at least they are supposed to.) Two year olds just let it fly . . .   And they think in such interesting ways.

We picked Smith up at his day care center in Fort Lauderdale on Friday morning just before his lunch and nap time. Our plan was to get him, go to lunch at Mac Donalds to fill his tummy and then he would sleep in the car on the hour ride back to our house.  HA  HA  HA  HA ! To think we could plan anything is a joke!  We got to "school" just in time for Smith and his class to be coming in from the play ground.  All 7 or 8 kids were walking along holding on to the rope but there was no Smith. Then we saw him at the back of the line riding in the big red wagon with all the play ground toys surrounding him. He looked like the emperor following his loyal subjects.  Was he riding because he WOULDN'T walk? Was he riding so the teacher could keep a better eye on him? Or was he riding because he is getting a special treat for being such a good boy? WE will never know!
When Smith saw us his eyes lit up and he gave his grand pa squeal and tried to climb out of the wagon. Being under a ton of stuff gave him some trouble so grandpa went and got him out. WE gathered his things, signed him out and off we went to start our adventures. SMITH TALKED THE ENTIRE TIME WE WERE WITH HIM FOR THE TWO DAYS! He sure has a lot to say for a little guy. He started by telling us "GRANDMA'S HOUSE". We agreed that we were indeed heading for grandma's but we would stop at "Donalds" first for some lunch. We were promptly told, "NO!  NO DONALDS! GRANDMA'S HOUSE!" As we  explained that WE were hungry it made no difference to Smith. When we parked in "Donald's" parking lot Smith refused to budge from his car seat, all the while firmly insisting no donalds. grandma house!  We settled on grandpa getting some food for us, grandma sitting in the back seat with Smith and sharing my lunch while grandpa drove. Son of a gun little guy did NOT eat ! He just wanted to go to grandma's house.
Once we arrived at grandma's Smith settled in to playing with EVERYTHING, eating EVERYTHING and talking about EVERYTHING.  He kept telling us about his NEW HOUSE!  This kid has some memory!

We spent an awesome weekend together. Swam in our pool all afternoon, ate all his dinner and slept from 7:30 PM to 7 AM. WE made pancakes together for breakfast, rode over to the wildlife preserve near by and spent the entire time talking and looking at ALL the animals.

Smith checking out the turtles

Crocodile !  "BITE"

Little Red fox

Birds

SNAKES !

THEY'RE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK

Here we go again . . . THEY are back!  No, not the Florida snow birds, it's still too early for them.  THEY are the B-A-T-S bats!

Remember THEM?  They were here, what, a year ago? Or was it two years ago? Maybe it was three?  I don't remember just when they were here last but I do remember they made my life miserable. Oh, the bats really didn't bother me in the least but what they turned H into was another story.  He becomes sort of like BATMAN without the cloak and neat car. Our bats turn H into a raving lunatic that is obsessed with these little creatures. Each night at dusk H actually LEAVES the TV to go sit in the back yard to watch for the B-A-T-S. He has been leaving on all the lights with the hopes that the bats won't want to return because it is too bright.  But let me back up a little to the beginning of our latest adventure
I told you the story of H sitting on the lanai the other day when a bat walked across the floor. Odd as that was we decided the little guy had come in on some chair cushions that had been left outside for quite some time. (Nothing odd about that, H leaves all sorts of things laying around for days, weeks,  months. But you already know that.)
We just figured it was a one time deal and I thought nothing of it. H, on the other hand, started obsessing about the B-A-T.  He talked about this bat for days until he decided to go out back at dusk and watch to see if there were any bats flying off our house when it got dark. I thought this was a wonderful idea because it gave me a full half hour to myself! Only trouble was the man was RIGHT for once in his life. (He isn't right often but I will give him credit when credit is due.)
Sure enough . . .  we have bats! AGAIN! 
There are no where near as many as last time but enough that something needs to be done. H has been plotting devious ways of ridding us of these pests without spending a fortune on the exterminator. Mostly because right now is "nesting" season for the little darlings and they are protected by law until the middle of August. At least they are protected from professional extermination, not from H.
And so the battle begins. 
I was sent to stand on the  side of the house to see if any were nesting over there. Do you know how freaking fast these little suckers fly? One minute there is nothing and the next second there are 4 bats flying over your head. You can imagine how thrilled I was to be on bat patrol.  But as far as I could tell the majority are nesting in the roof of the lanai. Problem is you have to go up on the roof and lean over to get at the spaces where they are. And you have to do that after dark when they have all left their nest. H has a plan to get wood and nail screening on it and hang it over the nest so the bats can get out but can't get back in. Sounds like a plan but the man is up muttering about bats all day and half the night. (which doesn't explain why I am wide awake at 3AM)
H is headed for Home Depot in the morning to gather supplies. He has forgotten that we are having the roof power washed in a week or two so all his nets will have to come down for that.
I think I'll just let him go for it. It will be interesting to see who gets the better of whom. And I have the hospital and the exterminator both on speed dial.

GER'S OFFICE

I was exchanging emails with friend Kathy today and she mentioned her husband's office. She said that if Ger's office was anything like her husbands . . .
After I stopped laughing at the thought of Ger having an "office" I told her I had the makings of today's blog.
For as long as I have know H the man has NEVER had an office in our house. Never had an office at his school where he taught for 36 years but did have an office at the Town of Brookhaven where he ran a recreation program for about 2 thousand handicapped individuals. I very seldom visited his TOB office but any time I was there all I could see was a huge mess. Two or three desks with mountains of paper on them, a telephone that he was ALWAYS talking on and clutter all over and under every thing.
Now that H is retired and living in Florida he has no need of an office. He has a recliner in the TV room.  Next to the recliner is the phone, a light, 2 "organizer" boxes with all sorts of papers, pencils and pens. The BIG IMPORTANT part of H's "office" is his personal planner.
About 2 years ago one of the charities who continually send us crap sent a small planner/calendar. H liked it and that was the start of "his office".  EVERY THING gets written in the planner, or his Sudoku calendar or any of the numerous scraps of paper that are over flowing the organizer boxes. H is forever "taking notes" on things and writing things down some place in that corner of the den. Because we also will eat dinner on snack trays in front of the TV there are also numerous bits of unidentifiable food items mixing in with the "office".  ( I have cleaning ladies who dread going into that corner of the room. I pay them extra just to clean the office!)



This all is actually a step up from the mobile office that is parked in our drive way. Because we have a "HIS & HERS" car H keeps much of his clutter in his car. Today as we went out I had to get a garbage bag for the passenger side of his car. Coupons are a BIG part of the "files" in the mobile office. I gave the man a manila file folder the size of Rhode Island so he could keep his coupons all in one place but some how that just doesn't happen. I'm thinking that I should get some double sided tape and when he leaves these coupons around I can just tape them to his body.
And leave them around HE Does!  A favorite resting place for the coupons is on the antique trunk inside the front door.  H clips coupons in his "office". They kick around his "office" for a few days until I ask if they are coming or going so he moves them to the trunk.  It takes an average of a week for the coupon to move from the trunk to the front seat of the car. There they stay until I get to ride in his car. By the time I pick them up off the floor of the car they have expired . . .

Every one needs an office!  I  happen to have 2.

OF BRUSHES AND BATS

That would be   B-A-T-S  BATS !  Or in this case, B-A-T  as in one bat.

H is a well of stories for you and today he gave me 2 good giggles to share.

I was in the pool cooling off after a hard day of doing nothing when I decided to clean the tile at the top of the water line. There was some algae growing on the grout and I thought I would clean it since the "pool boy", to whom we pay a small fortune each week, never seems to get it cleaned off.  H was sitting on the lanai so I called in to him to ask him to go into the kitchen, go in the cabinet under the kitchen sink and get me the small white scrub brush that was in a basket on the right side of the cabinet.
I realize this was WAY too much to ask of the man but I thought if I spoke slowly and gave very specific directions he might be able to handle this.  NOT !
He got as far as the sliding door into the kitchen and called out,"What do you want?"  I went through the directions again stressing the "WHITE BRUSH" in the kitchen cabinet UNDER THE SINK".  It was quiet for a moment and he asked "WHICH CABINET?"  At this point I am about to drown myself in 3 feet of water. I repeated which cabinet and what I wanted.  A minute later he came out and tossed me an ORANGE BOTTLE BRUSH !   Seriously folks, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Story two is about THE BAT!  Once I got the orange brush I gave up on cleaning the pool and decided to just float around and mutter to myself. Just as I was relaxing H yells from the lanai, "THERE'S A BAT IN HERE!" (Much to my surprise H did not scream like a girl. He was actually quite composed.) I know better than to get out of the  pool and get in his way so from the pool I asked what was going on. H had been sitting reading when he saw a bat WALK across the floor. I'm thinking that's really not a good thing at 3:30 in the afternoon of a bright sunny day but who knows. The bat by now is sitting in the garden on the lanai just chilling. H is now yelling, "WHAT SHOULD I DO?'  I'm damned if I am getting out of the pool so I suggested H get one of the small butterfly nets that we keep on hand for skimming the top of the pool. I thought to put the net over the bat, slide a hard place mat under it and toss the poor little thing into the shrubs outside. H tossed the net over the bat and then wanted to STOMP on it!  I told him WE do NOT STOMP creatures of any sort so I insisted he carry it outside where he THREW the net AND place mat into the bushes. At this point I think the bat realized it REALLY DID NOT want to live any where near us crazy people so it limped off into the huge white Bird of Paradise that grows out back. It probably still has a headache but at least it still has it's life.

I have been wanting to put up a Bat House out near the edge of our lake but H is not a fan. I think I can use this adventure to convince him that if there were a house for the bats they would not be looking to live in our house.

GOOD STUFF - - - BAD STUFF

I wrote about love it / hate it so I'm following a theme here.  Today has brought a shit load of input to my computer and brain.  Some good, unfortunately, most bad.  But life being what it is that's the way the cookie crumbles... usually all over my key board. (I really must stop eating while I type.)

Starting last Tuesday:

Phone text from son Kent in Ft. Lauderdale.  His wife was on her way to Trinidad for work for 2 nights and her cat was sick.  Motsie is 10 years old and has been having lots of UTI's this past year or so. Kristen sends Kent a text from the airport,"Take cat to vet".  Kent takes cat to vet and after tests the results are Motsie has diabetes. He, (the cat) will have to get shots for the rest of his life. (Kent nearly passes out at this thought as he does any time shots or blood are mentioned.) Kent and Kristen are in the  middle of a move to a new town house and haven't got a penny to spare. Shots are $150 a month. The decision was made today to put the cat to sleep tomorrow. Poor Motsie! Motsie has gone from 15 pounds down to 8 in a week so it is probably a good decision but Kent and Kristen are heart broken. (They still have Charlie the cat and Mookie the dog but Motsie has been Kristen's cat from when she was in college.) Motsie was the only cat I knew who would give me "head bumps". He will be missed.

Yesterday I got an email from NY friend Kathy that her husband Jim has been in the hospital for the past 5 days with pleurisy. (An inflammation of the lining of the lungs)  He had a choking incident about a year ago so that may have been the trigger. He is not feeling very well at the moment so we have to send lots of prayers and good thoughts his way.

Today I saw on Facebook that my little man Smith burned his finger on a HOT TIRE RIM(?). The boy loves trucks so I can picture him touching the tire on some truck but I'm really not sure how that happened. He has a blister the size of Rhode Island on his poor little finger.  (I guess it looks so big because his fingers are so small) Poor Smith !

NOW WE NEED SOME GOOD NEWS . . .

I went back to my therapist today for a recharge and it felt good to talk and get reminded of many things I forget.

WE will have Smith here for the weekend!  While mom and dad move to the new house we will get to play and not sleep with Smith. Swimming pool here we come.

Keri sent all her 300 and more pictures from their week vacation on Tortola and all I can say is WOW!
If that island isn't paradise I don't know what is.  The place looks like something out of the South Pacific. Serious beauty!  They had such a great time and the photos of the family are just amazing. If I knew how to down load the pictures from Shutterfly I would but you will just have to use your imagination.


So what wins?  . . . . . .   GOOD STUFF / BAD STUFF?   I'm not sure but I do know I am going to sleep happy tonight so I guess tonight I got it right and am letting the good stuff win.

Happy Dreams.

LOVE IT - - - HATE IT

I love writing my blog but hate that I don't find (make) the time to write every day.  I get up some days and think of something great I want to write about but as the day goes on I just never find the time to write.  Good thing I'm not Steven King or some big author.

I love getting an idea of something to write.  I spend the day writing and rewriting the blog in my head and then comes bed time and I have not put anything on paper.  And speaking of paper, I HATE that no one writes letters any more.  We have these one line "tweets" and emails that just don't cover the range of emotions. One of my BFF's, Glo, up in Maine has a stack of letters that we wrote to each other when we were teenagers. I bet my shrink would love to read those!  Glo and I wouldn't see each other for years at a time but we wrote often and when we wrote we wroooooooooooooooooote. Our letters would go on forever and we would pour our hearts out in them.  AH!  The good old days.  But then that was when postage to mail a letter was three cents.  Now you have to mortgage your house to mail anything.

I LOVE that H went to the post office for me today.  I had made up a neat card for Abby and Roman and wrote a card to Kaelin and Finn. I had a package for sister-in-law Sue that I had wrapped up yesterday and H offered to take it all to the post office for me to mail.  AWwwwwwwwwww

I Hate that we ate dinner tonight at 8PM and it is now sitting in my stomach fighting to come back up but I Love that we had that dinner at Ger's brother's house with our niece and nephew and their families. What wonderful young people they are and what beautiful beautiful children they have. Samantha, 12 and her two 12 year old girl cousins are so much fun to watch together. Gillian is visiting from New Jersey and has been staying with Sam and her family for the past week.  Sam's mom brought the 2 girls down to grandma and grandpa's for 4 days and were joined by the third cousin from Ohio who is vacationing in their condo near by. I love 12 year old girls! They are so cute together and entertained us for the evening.

I Love that I got to Skype with Keri, Kaelin and Finn today.  Finn and Kaelin are a hoot on the computer. Kaelin had a lot to tell us about her trip to Tortola and Finn was just excited to see our faces on the computer. I also Love that Keri sent us over 300 pictures of their Tortola vacation that I will now look at.

Hope to see you tomorrow !   Good night.

CHRISTIAN GREY WITHOUT THE SEX . . .

Or the money or the rakishly good looks . . .  

Let's start with "Have you read THE book?"  You know, THE book that is the talk of everyone every where. . .   "Fifty Shades of Grey" is the book of the year that ALL the ladies are talking about. If you haven't read it you really need to get on the wagon and join the rest of the female population.
Basically the book(s) (there are 3 of them in the series) are totally trash and really sort of boring. We have the uber rich, super handsome, totally awesome and young Christian Grey who falls for naive and totally innocent Anastasia Steel. (And who in hell names their daughter Anastasia anyway? Don't they know when the kid has to write her name in kindergarten she will be the last one in the class to get finished!)  Oh, did I mention that Christian is a total mental mess with all sorts of issues.  He is also more sexually adept with unbelievable stamina and control than is realistically possible.  Believe me there is no man alive who could match this guy and no woman alive who could keep up with him.

I am finally reading the last book in the trilogy and am looking forward to moving on. I started the books because I needed to know first hand what the hype was all about. One you start you just have to keep going because you cannot believe Christian and Ana will come up with MORE ways to do IT. It has taken me 4 months to get half way through book three. There is only so much you can take at one time.

BUT . . .    when you stop reading and start thinking about this guy Christian Grey and you start stripping away the sex, the money, the good looks you are left with  . . .

the men we married!   Think about it. Christian Grey is one REALLY F----D up guy.   He has issues from his child hood, especially his "crack whore" mother.  My husband has childhood issues from his Brooklyn Irish Catholic mother.  (Not really so different if you think about it)  Christian Grey has problems with being touched.  Christian Grey has trouble not getting his own way. Christian Grey has issues about being in charge.

Seriously ladies, think about it!  Peal away all the great things about this character and what are you left with?  How very disappointing!

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW ?

So I am picturing God sitting where ever he sits, holding His head muttering, "Catherine, Catherine, Catherine . . . When are you going to hear me? When are you going to listen to all the answers I am sending you? When are you going to realize you have the answers you are seeking if you just stop praying and just LISTEN!?"

And I, here on Earth, just keep getting up every day and spending the entire day PRAYING to God, the Holy Spirit, Mary, St. Joseph, Jesus and just about any one who I think might listen. But I never seem to "GET IT" so I just keep on praying.

Rather than have me hit in the head with a 2X4 God has sent me 2 people to give me answers and to basically tell me to Poop or Get off the Pot!  I can't imagine these 2 experiences just happened out of the blue. I am a total believer in Karma, fate and Divine Intervention.

Wake-up-call #1 happened yesterday.  I had my yearly physical and am, apparently, healthy as a horse. (And weighing just about as much!)  The main focus of my physical turned into a mental therapy session where I started venting about my state of mind, which has been piss poor for quite some time now. (In case you haven't noticed.)  Doctor and I discussed changing some of my meds and after a half hour of talking she said, "Leave Your Husband".  That shut me up fast. I picked my mouth up off the floor and just stared at her. Bottom line . . .  shut up about "poor you" and if you are that miserable DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT !  The thought of leaving H is always in my mind but when some one actually told me to DO IT . . .  suddenly reality slapped me up side my head and I realized what an idiot I am.  NO WAY am I leaving H so what the hell AM I pissing about all the time?    Yeah, the man drives me nuts and is a total A hole at times but he is a MAN so what do I expect.  Would I really be happy living in a one room shack having to work as a waitress to support myself?   DUH!
So this morning I called my therapist from 2 years ago and made an appointment for next week.  I need a new mind set and she will help me get it.

Wake-up-call #2 happened today.  I had a chiropractor appointment and then a lunch date with the chiropractor's receptionist/assistant, Carol.  I have known her for a couple of years now and we always enjoy chatting when I come in to the office. We figured we would take some time out of the office to get to know each other a little better. She is a lovely lady, same age as me, originally from Massachusetts, living full time in Florida with her husband. She has grand kids that live a distance away so there is a lot of common ground for us.
At lunch I mentioned my encounter with the doctor yesterday and we got talking about what I "need" and want out of life. I mentioned that I always think I should be "doing something" for others. I mentioned thinking I would like to volunteer in the Assisted living facility near by that my father had been in. Carol asked me a few questions about the place and then as we paid the bill she grabbed my arm and said, "Come On!" Next thing we were in her car headed for Palms Edge, the assisted living where my dad had been 7 years ago. Carol walked me in and the next thing I knew I was filling out my name and phone number so Whitney can call me so set up a day and time for me to start.
I checked out Carol on the way back to pick up my car just to see if I could see the wings or halo on her but they weren't visible to me.  That doesn't make me any less sure that she IS an angel sent by God to help me. Thank you Carol for listening and giving me the push!

And there it is . . .   God is moving me in a direction because I have asked him to. I just wasn't listening to him. Hopefully I'll do better in the future !

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

Can you remember that last day of school before summer vacation?  I remember it vividly from my elementary school days.  Running down the big flights of stairs with all my class mates as we chanted, "No more pencils, no more books. No more teachers dirty looks", all the while looking around to make sure there were no teachers near by. Little did I realize the teachers were busy celebrating and singing their own version of the song.
And then the doors flew open and we were FREE . . .   running out the doors with visions of all the great things we were going to do this summer.  It was a magic moment that was so unique. No other moment in the year gave this sense of possibilities and dreams. IT WAS SUMMER !

That's how I feel today.  Summer is HERE!  If you live in Florida you know that summer is THE VERY BEST time of the year. Yeah, it's hot. But not half as hot as the rest of the US at this moment. 105 degrees in Maryland?  102 in New York? You have got to be kidding me!  Today is bright sun and only 89 degrees in the sun with only 75 % humidity!  I've got a pool in the back yard that is 92 degrees and life is good.

Smith and mom & dad came up yesterday and stayed over night.  We had a BLAST!  They got here early yesterday and we swam and swam and swam.  Smith wore his new Muscle Man life vest with attached swimmies and he was good to go.  No worry about falling in the pool with this thing on. I feel like a prune after all the swimming we did.  Then we had guests come for dinner and Smith had Caroline (3), Jackson (7) and Sydney(1) to entertain him.  They joined him in the pool (not Sydney because she is undergoing surgery to straighten out her deformed leg and can't swim with the brace on. She didn't seem to mind in the least.)  Smith and kids played around each other but had great fun. Dinner on the Bar-B-Q was fabulous, if I do say so myself and we all had a great evening. Smith didn't get to bed till almost 9 and the rest of the adults weren't far behind him.

Unfortunately Smith was up at 5:30 this morning so when grandma and grandpa got up at 8:30 we took the little man for a walk with Mookie the dog and then headed back into the pool so mom and dad could catch a few extra Z's.  When Kent and Kristen got up around 11 we made chocolate chip pancakes and bacon with strawberries and whip cream and had our selves a delicious Brunch. After which we burped our way back into the pool for another hour or so. Smith napped two and a half hours and we all just stayed in the pool drinking Mimosas and beer. What a life!

When Smith woke up we got dressed and headed over to our local "Down Town" by the mall and took Smith on the "train" ride and the carousel with a stop in between for ice cream and a few hundred rides up and down the escalator.

Now the Ft. Lauderdale Lawlors have headed home and grandpa and I are left with a house that looks like there have been tons of kids here for the weekend when actually it was only a couple of hours. But like the prospect of summer vacation we have ALL summer to pull it together until the gang arrives again.

Jackson, Caroline and Smith

Smith loading up his squirt gun

Off for a walk

Train Ride

Ice Cream

Best ride yet!

Riding a Turtle!

What have we got to look forward to this summer?  Quiet roads because all the tourists and snow birds have gone home.  Quiet restaurants,  less rushing around, less crowded beaches, calm water in the ocean and lazy days.  On a personal note we have Smith's family moving in 2 weeks, Smith's second birthday and party in three weeks and a Lawlor Family Reunion in just about a month. Kyle and Family will be here vacationing from England,  Keri and Family will come down from Maryland and Kent and Family will come up from Pompano.  And in between it all grand ma will just sit by the pool and dream of all the things to do while singing, "No more pencils, no more books, If I play my cards right I won't have to cook."     LIFE IS GOOD !

I SO TIRED . . .

I am just exhausted watching the cleaning girls clean my house.  You just don't know how exhausting it is!
Yeah, right!
Thank you God for  giving me a life where I can be the lazy lump that I am and have some one come and clean this pig sty for me.

I am out in the garage on my little computer because the girls are working in side. Ger and I got up this morning, (way too early form my liking) and went to Publix for a car load of groceries. The store was pretty empty and busy restocking after the Fourth of July crowds yesterday.  I haven't shopped since we got home from our road trip 2 weeks ago so we really needed to stock up. (We have been living off coupons at local restaurants and what ever I had in the freezer.)  When we got home my favorite part of shopping commenced. Ger is very good in that he will bring in EVERYTHING for me from the car and then stack it up on the counter tops in the kitchen.  That works for me! But then it begins . . .   The proverbial snow ball starts rolling and usually doesn't stop for at least an hour or so. Today I crashed before the snow ball did!
As I walked into the kitchen after putting on my "play" or comfy clothes I told  myself I would just put the groceries away and then get working on the garage, which is a TOTAL mess. (We are having guests tomorrow and Kent and Family are coming up for the weekend so I need to get the garage in order so Smith and our visitor's kids don't kill themselves out here.)
It is now hours after the shopping trip and I have just gotten out here to the garage and don't have the energy to move, no less clean. Some how I went from putting groceries away to cleaning out the entire refrigerator in the kitchen AND the one in the garage. That involved throwing out old food, cleaning shelves and rearranging everything. From the fruit and vegetable drawers I some how got involved in my spice cabinet. I ended up emptying the entire cabinet, washing down the shelves and reorganizing everything in there. By then I still hadn't gotten the meat put away because I had decided to marinate the steak for tomorrow so that  meant making the marinate. Only trouble was, the blender was in the dish washer which needed emptying.

It is going on 3 O'clock and all I want to do is take a nap. That's what happens when I get up "early". It just doesn't pay to get out of bed before noon.

P.S.  How was your Fourth of July?  We had a lovely day yesterday.  I slept in a little and then G and I went out for breakfast. We drove over to check on Kyle's condo and then came home to putter around the house. Yesterday I got into cleaning out the front closet and throwing out a ton of things I haven't worn in ages. Once it started to cool off outside we went out back and worked on the potted plants in the yard. (I think I need some "potting" to chill out. I am scaring myself with all this ambition.) The yard is looking good and it is delightful to work out there in the late afternoon when I can jump in the pool every 15 minutes.  I DO love having a pool! The fact that the pool is 94 degrees is a little disappointing because it REALLY is NOT refreshing. It is rather like taking a nice hot bath at the end of the day when you need to relax your muscles. I will be heading out there later today!
Did I tell you about my fall in the bedroom on Tuesday? WE were on our way to the baseball game and I "ran" in to get  my hat. I know better than to rush doing anything. I slid on one of the mats in front of the sinks in our master bath and  one leg went one way and the other leg went the other way. I crashed down on my knee, fell to the floor, rolled across the room and came to rest up against my vanity. I was NOT graceful !  I lay there yelling,"OW OW OW", thinking H would hear me but that didn't happen. So then it was time to take inventory . . . Pain? . . . Nothing major,   Broken bones?   . . .  no don't think so,   can I move? . . .   Yep, I think I can.  And that was that. Until yesterday when EVERY bone, muscle and joint is in pain.  Helloooooo  Aleve !  I am a walking advertisement for that drug.  I probably should make a trip to the chiropractor but really don't have the time. And I do have an appointment next Wednesday so I'll just wait till then.

Never a dull moment ! 

NOSTALGIA

The first sign of Alzheimer's is living in the past.  I guess I am on my way!

It seemed only fitting that on the eve of our FOURTH OF JULY I should be thinking about holidays of times past. The Fourth of July was always BIG in our family. I have no idea why, other than it was a different generation who were proud to be American. It was a different world all around but the Fourth of July WAS a celebration of patriotism and freedom. People knew what it meant to be able to live in the USA. They knew it was a privilege to be American and they knew how lucky they were to be living here.
My mom would always make a 4th of July cake. It was ALWAYS red, white and blue. Usually involving strawberries and blue berries and whip cream. We would have picked the strawberries and the blue berries and we would have whipped the cream ourselves. (No, we did not get the cream from the cow, we did live in "The City" after all.)  The cake was always the high point of the day and after the cake we would wait for dark when my dad would go to the garage and bring out the metal box that he had brought home from work at the rail road. In the box would be a road flare that would be placed far down the dirt drive way where I couldn't get near it. He would magically light the flare and there would be a whooshing sound as it ignited. Everyone, mom, me and grand pa Joe would go "Ahaaaaaaa" as it would light like it was some piece of magic. We would be sitting in chairs on the front stoop and there we would stay for the evening as we watched the flare burn down. We would even have the neighborhood kids come to join us, like we were the rich folks who could afford to put on a show. It was the most exciting thing I can remember until the year that my dad took me to Maine on the 4th and we went to the capital building in Augusta to watch REAL fireworks. They scared the bejebbers out of me with all the noise even though I was 1o years old at the time. For years afterwards I never wanted to see fireworks!
That stupid old flare had been plenty for me, Thank you very much. Who needed these hi tech noisy things?

I think I talked about this last year so you can see how much a part of my childhood this was. The thing I haven't mentioned was that I always had to dress for the holiday! Never would there be a holiday that I wasn't dressed in the appropriate colors. Red, white and blue for the 4th, ALL red for Valentines. Lavender, pink and pale blue for Easter and of course orange and black for Halloween. (I didn't get into the all brown for ground hog's day until I started teaching.)
Yes, I was a weird kid . . .   that's what happens when you don't have any  siblings telling you how weird you really are. I just went through life thinking I was normal!  I'm sure my parents knew I was weird but since I was all they had they just made the best of it.

All this was brought to mind tonight by our evening at the ball game. Our usual Wednesday night Silver Slugger game was on Tuesday this week because of the holiday. But tonight was also a celebration. After the game, at which my favorite Jupiter Hammerheads lost 4-6, there were fireworks! Big fireworks that  I thoroughly enjoyed. The stadium was packed and there were lots and lots of kids there. Most of which were dressed for the celebration of our country's birth. Lots of red, white and blue and lots of stars and stripes. And was I dressed for the occasion? No, I'll save that treat for tomorrow. For tonight's game I was dressed in black and turquoise for the Jupiter Hammerheads!

It was a great evening for being and AMERICAN!