Wow! It's Been a While!

Two years since I blogged anything!  I could give a plethora of excuses, but that gets us nowhere.  Here's a rundown of the major events in my life in the last two years and 5 days...

June 2011

Hubby and I celebrated our 15th anniversary.  What a fantastic milestone for us!  

July 2011

1.  Took some time off to be with my Mom for surgery during the first part of the month.
2.  At the end of the month we went to Savannah to celebrate those 15 years together and Loved it!
3.  Hurried home to help Mom out with Daddy because he was having some issues with his Alzheimer's.

August 2011

Daddy passed away on August 11, 2011.  It was the hardest loss I've suffered so far.  My Daddy was my world and it felt like my world was crumbling around me for a while.  It's getting better, one day at a time.  

September - December 2011

The rest of the year was kind of a hazy blur for me.  There was work, there was helping Mama get everything situated after Daddy's passing, there was depression, there was home and Hubby and the kitties.  Holidays were practically non existent for us.  I did realize that I have the BEST, most caring, Hubby, friends and co-workers in the world during this time!  They had a lot to put up with me and my moodiness, and they were there no matter what.  I will forever be thankful for each and every one of them!

2012

I slowly climbed back into life again, and continued to help Mama try to do the same.  The anger and depression faded, the moodiness evened back out, Hubby finally told me that he was glad to see that his Wife was coming back.  (That meant the world to me by the way)  We all found a new routine and got stronger again.  Mom learned that she was pretty good at living on her own, and has even begun to ask for help when she needs it.  That in itself has been an amazing feat!  :)  The holidays were easier this time around.  We still weren't really in the mood for celebrating, but we did it anyway.  

It's definitely been a time of change for me and mine, but we're hanging in there!  I'm hoping that 2013 will keep looking up.  It's been pretty good to us so far!

HUGS!

Charm

This morning I snuggled with my sweet little Charm for the last time. When I woke up this evening I found that he had passed away while I was asleep and dreaming of him playing with Teensy. I'm really going to miss my little buddy but I know he's in a better place now where he can romp and play and isn't bothered with that nasty cancer anymore. These were the last pictures I have of him from the other day when he felt like spending some quality window time with Teensy.

Charm

4/11/04 - 4/30/09

................................................................................

The Rainbow Bridge

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown...

Still Here...

Still here at the hospital with Daddy... He's disconnected from everything, but was having problems with the post catheter voiding so we're still here. I've read my book... I've twiddled my thumbs, I've played online... Thanks for the free internet Marshall South!



And now we wait until morning... again... His pain is minimal, thanks to a dose of Lasix, voiding is now good, he's a lot more stable on his feet too now that the pain isn't so evident so I'll sit like this...



One More Night...

Simply Amazing

Yanno, sometimes I'm just amazed at what modern medicine can accomplish! I've been a nurse for 12+ years and I have seen/heard of quite a lot of way cool things that can be done these days. Well, Today, I was amazed again...

Some of you may already know that I've been sitting with my Daddy in the hospital this weekend. He's a young man of 82 and he tries to stay pretty active. Loves yard work, loves to piddle around with stuff and tinker with anything mechanical (comes from being a retired mechanic yanno). He also has a touch of Alzheimer's and tends to be somewhat unstable on his feet at times. I can't count the number of times I've gotten a call from my Mom saying, "Well, Your Daddy's fell in the ditch again. Came to the house covered in mud and I had to spray him off with the water hose before he came in!" Did I also mention that he's incredibly lucky? So far, he's not done any permanent damage to himself, a bump here, a bruise there, a soaked wallet, mud in his socks and no matter what we say or do, he simply will Not stay away from that ditch! Anyway, on Tuesday night, he fell... Twice... in the bathroom. Stubborn man that he is, decided that he was just "stove up" and didn't need to go to the hospital. Finally, on Friday morning, he caved, went to the ER and was admitted. Daddy doesn't do well in hospitals. Out of his element sometimes equals "out of his head", and the last time, he tried to escape multiple times. Bed alarms, staying round the clock, very little sleep and when I did try I had to sleep with one eye open or he'd get sneaky. I learned a lot about how devious he could be the last time.
Anyway, after rounds of X-Rays, CT Scans, and three days in the hospital, this morning's MRI showed something. Not one, but TWO Compression fractures in his vertebra. One in his L1 Lumbar vertebra and one at the top of his Sacrum (S1 I believe). So He had a procedure called Kyphoplasty done. Ya'll, After this seemingly simple and Way Quick procedure, Daddy's nearly pain free! Thank You Lord! It pained me soo much to see him hurting to the point that he couldn't sit, stand, lay, and especially Move without excruciating pain. Well, that was Yesterday. He sat up with ease (Read NO PAIN!) this evening, on his own no less, and ate his dinner with me. I am truly amazed! He's in such better spirits this evening, has gotten more sleep today than he's probably gotten all week long in one stretch, and is singing the praises of his procedure! Granted, tomorrow is another day, and we'll see what it brings. But for tonight, I think that he and I both may get a decent night's sleep. Umm... well, He will anyway. Can you call sleeping in a lumpy, bumpy recliner decent in any terms? LOL!
Thank You Soooo Much to those of you adding him to your prayers! I'm soo blessed to have friends like y'all! I'll post more when I know more!

Ebay & Wife Beater Tees

Believe it or not, I've actually started to get rid of some of our left over Hooters junk that's been piled in a plastic bin since 2003 when DH was a manager for the chain. So, I've taken the leap and put a few items up on Ebay. Anyone want to get a Hooter Girl Uniform cheap? LOL! Anyway, wish me luck an lots of bids!
Check out my auctions here if you want...
My Ebay Auctions

This morning, Hubby decided (Finally) that his regular tees are simply too hot for summertime kitchen wear under his chef jackets. I've been trying to get him to let me buy him some wife beater tees to wear in the summer so he doesn't over heat soo much. Of course he's been totally against it for whatever reason that he can't explain to me. Probably because he really can't come up with something that I'll agree is a good reason, so he keeps saying that he just doesn't want em. Yeah, he's stubborn, and he's all mine. LOL! Well, a few days ago, he comes home with a two pack of said wife beaters and announces that he thinks they will be cooler under his uniform jackets so he bought a couple to try out. He's strutting and crowing like it was all his idea and he's just soo stinkin proud of himself. I coulda whacked him a good one... but I didn't, I was good... I just smiled and said, "Oh you did? I've always thought you'd look sexy in wife beater tees Honey. I'm soo glad that you'll be cooler at work now!" Yeah, sometimes you just have to let them believe that it was all their idea, and play along. What ya want to bet that he goes back for the large pack in a few days??? LOL!

Have a Great Day Y'all! I'm off to do errands! Wally World, Here I Come!

OOOHH You BADDD BLOGGER!!!

I can't believe that it's been a whole THREE MONTHS since I posted on here! Y'all, I humbly beg your forgiveness, and have absolutely no excuse. There has been plenty of Busy happening around the homestead though so I'll take it a month at a time...

May
If you've known me or have been reading the blog in the last year then you know a bit about the stubbornness that is Mama. She's had some health issues that she and I haven't exactly seen eye to eye on. Good news, is that after another light stroke she FINALLY decided to have the surgery to open the blood flow in her Right Carotid Artery. I'm quite happy to report that she's doing Very Well with her recovery thus far! She's still complaining about the "whooshing noise" she's hearing on that side... "Mama, blood is actually Moving in that side of your neck now. Let the thing whoosh all it wants!" Y'all, I saw her Carotid Ultrasound when they did it. The plaque looked like a bird's head in there and was whistling Dixie. Blood flow to the brain is a Good Thing! :o) Of course, the surgeon wants to do the left side now, and so here we go again with the stubbornness of not wanting surgery again. I'm trying way hard to be happy with what she Will do and not sweat the stubbornness. Y'all pray.

June
My Brother's youngest daughter graduated (with Honors Yay!) from High School up in Indiana and so Hubby and I headed up for the big Open House shindig. Y'all, this gal's going places! I'm so stinkin PROUD of her! Ever since she's been knee high to a grasshopper she's said that she wanted to be a Doctor and that when she had her own office, I was gonna be her office nurse. LOL! Danged if she's changed her mind either. She heads off to Purdue University in 16 short days for college and to be a member of the Purduettes. It was really nice to spend a few days with my "Yankee Family" and the weather was FABULOUS! Hubby and I took one day to ourselves and headed off to shop in Michigan City and to visit a couple of Wineries (1)(2) in Union Pier, MI. I also "found" two new brothers in my Sis-in-law's two brothers. It was definitely fun to meet and spend time with SIL's extended family. I've got Ton's of pics... I'll post some when I get the chance.

July
This month has actually been fairly normal. Busy, but normal. LOL! Work has been really busy now that Baby Season is in full swing. I've had a new nurse with me for the past few weeks to learn the ropes of L&D, and so I've been in teaching mode. She'll be with me for a few more weeks and then it'll be time for my "Baby Bird" to fly on her own. I SO remember those days! scared to death knowing that I didn't only have one life in my hands, but TWO! Teaching gives me time to reflect on those times and gives me a renewed energy for the job I love. It's truly a wonderful thing to get to do something I love and get paid for it!

So that my dear Blogging friends is what I've been up to since seeing the Nuns at Lowe's. I'll soon have some new pics up for your browsing pleasure and lots of exciting news with my Stampin' Up! business as well! So, I guess you can say......

SHEEEEEE'S BAAAAAAAACK!!!!!

Just when you think you've seen everything...

You go off galavanting with the Hub and you see Nuns...

At Lowe's...

With Bags...

Getting into a SUV.

Ok... so maybe Now I've seen it all?

Fun Monday - Photo Edition

Happy Fun Monday Night! This week the lovely folks over at the Nekkid Lizard Adventures are hosting and have set forth these rules...

This week's Fun Monday is a really simple one:
FIVE PICTURES - FIVE WORDS PER PICTURE.Any 5 (FIVE) pictures, any subject, and any 5 (FIVE) words to describe and/or explain each picture.
CAN YOU DO IT???

I've been thinking and while going through my pics I've decided to simply share a bit of my rambling life. So here they are...

Hey Babe! Ain't this cool!?!

Kitties are the best snugglers!

Once a bird flying high.

Backyard movies with our friends.

My favorite sky after storms.

Thanks for coming by to see my pics! Now go see what the other Fun Monday-ers posted and don't forget to leave them comments! We just LOVE Comments!

Fun Monday - Wednesday Edition...

Ok, so I've been a slacker this week and haven't yet posted my Fun Monday... Actually, I did Think about it on Monday morning (yeah right... it's NOT morning until the sun has actually risen! Ack!) as I was driving in to work to do a fundraiser for Women's Services (We sold over $400 in goodies BTW). I thought about it on Sunday afternoon as well after my 4 hour nap after work and while mixing cookies, dipping marshmallows and while slicing and bagging a yummy pound cake getting ready for the bake sale on Monday. Then there was today... I REALLY Wanted to post, but the booty said it wasn't budging off the couch -until it took me off back to the bed for a good nap before work tonight. Hey... sometimes you just gotta do what the booty wants. LOL! So, now it's 11:58 pm, I'm sitting at work and trying to take time to give y'all a few quotes that I live by.

Thanks to Robin for hosting this week! Y'all, She's Freekin Hi-Larious, AND She's gonna get to meet Paula, the Family, and Phil the webmaster over in HotLanta soon! I'm Soooo Jealous! Anyhoo... trip on over and give her a read if she's not already on your list of Have To Reads... she will be on it soon I promise!

So, Robin says, "Your favorite "words of inspiration" might just be THE thing someone needs to hear"

These are quotes that have carried me through life as I live it from the people that I care for the most.

"Now if So-in-So jumped off a cliff would you?" - A favorite in my family. I got told this ALOT when I forgot I had a brain and didn't use it to follow my own path instead of being a Lemming.

"I brought you into this world, and I'll gladly take you out!" - A favorite of Mama's when she was really angry with me. I tried to counter it at times to my detriment... well, to that of my booty anyway. :o) (should Not have listened to the booty those times for sure!)

"Girls should never call boys... It'll give you a bad reputation" - Another from Mama... I did sneak around and do it, and the rep remains fairly stable. :)

"You can do anything you set your mind to, but you have to stay in school to do it!" - Both of my parents always pushed the stay in school motto, not that they were ever worried that I wouldn't stay in school, but they definitely wanted me to do more than they were able to.

"Can't never could do nothing" - I heard this every time I tried to say I couldn't do something or that something was too hard and wanted to give up.

Here's one that I don't think Hubby will EVER forget hearing from my lovely little MawMaw the first time he met her... "You know, you can get yourself fixed so y'all won't have babies if you want to." I guess this was her answer to the "pill"... heck, we weren't even thinking about gettin nekkid at this point! We'd only been on 3 dates! LOL!

"We help because we Want to, not because they're cute" - I said this one to Hubby when he was helping out with a couple of classes at school after he graduated from Culinard. He was telling me about this cute gal that he was helping and how she just couldn't get it right. He must have said Cute one too many times for my liking, but, like the "raise your hand" thing, it stuck like glue... I'm STILL waiting for "Take out the Trash" to stick like that! LOL!

~~~~~ Have to take a station break for patient care! ~~~~~

What a Morning...

This morning before leaving work I decided to partake of the Uniform Sale that was going on in the North Pavilion. We hospital folk just LOVE our Uniform Sales, and I ended up with several items that I felt I Needed (aka, were too cute to pass up) and got in line. A few minutes, one dropped item and four purple fingers later it was my turn to sign my receipt for payroll deduction and head for home. I happened to stop at a chair to wait for a friend to walk with (you know we women travel in pairs or not at all), and decided to check my ticket. My charge was wrong on the receipt... I counted the items, it was off, and I had a "Khaki" item that cost $54.00 on there. Had to get BACK in line, wait for another 10-15 min for them to go over my receipt with me item by item and decide that they hadn't charged me for a pair of pants and a top, AND had charged me for a pair of Shoes that I didn't buy and that they haven't sold in over a year! Go figure... Leave it to me to make something as simple as buying new scrubs an adventure.
So, then I decided that I'd had a busy enough night, and with the morning's foible, It was officially a Krystal's Morning. I tend to declare this when I've had a really busy or bad night. Something about those four little "Fresh, Hot, Small Squares" just calms me and seems to make everything right with the world. Know what I mean? On my way there, I decide to call my friend Jill for moral support over the wrong bill, and happen to dial one of my coworkers instead. (Danged Chocolate Cell and it's waaaay too sensitive keypad!) We have a nice little chat anyway until I pull into Fresh Hot Small Square Mecca. By now, I'm thinking things are looking up, beginning to go my way yanno? Ok, so I got my bill added incorrectly, I dialed the wrong number, it's ok, those are just happy accidents... No worries! I place my order and hear the sunny voice of my very favorite Drive thru lady over the intercom. Yay! I go to pull up to the window, pull out my handy dandy ATM card and, FLIP! It goes right out the window! This is not something that my training up until now has ever prepared me for so all I can do is laugh at My silly self while I climb out the door and go running behind my car to retrieve said plastic. Of course, there just happened to be a work crew in the lot working on whatever it is that they work on who saw the whole thing and I'm sure also had a nice little giggle over it as well. *sigh* What can you do if not laugh at yourself?!?! LOL! Hey, at least the sammies were done my favorite way... all soggy and squishy and full of Krystal Love! YUM!

Bad Blogger! Bad Blogger!

Ok, so it's been nearly three months since I've updated my blog. Jerri has been hounding me every chance she got, Vikki's been asking when I'm going to update, and even the Hubby has been wondering if I'm ever going to "put more stuff on my web hickey" so I'm FINALLY updating as I lay here with Charm half hanging on the keyboard begging for attention and Hubby snores. :o) Gotta love a laptop!!! Ok.. here goes...

Life: One word... BUSY! Long version... Parents doing OK at the moment (AKA not telling me that anything's wrong, but we all know how they can be!), DH has been job swapping (and in the dog house, but is getting to see the outside a little now), I've been hitting it hard at work (It's busy baby season yanno) and I just got a new orientee to show the ropes to, I completely missed my neice's birthday (and she made sure to inform me that I Would be making up for that in a big way! LOL!), Money's tight as usual, I need to go back on my diet (AKA Clothes are getting tight again too), and so, life has been a little more crazy than usual. I tend to want to "hibernate" when things get rough and wrap myself into my comfy coccoon until it all blows over. I know it's bad for me, and to those of you who have been affected by it (and most of my friends and family have been lately) I'm terribly sorry. Good news is that THANKFULLY life is settling down nicely at the moment. Either that, or I'm getting used to it which scares me a little. Ahhhh... Mi Vida Loca... What can I say?

There have been a few happy, creative, make me wanna turn the music up loud and dance moments though. Thank you God for those moments! Without them, I'd be toast! :o) I've gotten to spend some quality time with Jerri while getting ready for the 2nd Annual Crop 2 Help Retreat, Mona has bee waaay supportive and has listened to all my whining, so has Jill and Vikki remembers to ask me how things are going frequently as well...to them I'm forever grateful! You girls Rock! I've gotten to play with some friends I've not seen in a while and made some new friends at the retreat. I've met another online friend and got to spend some time getting to know her face to face, I've enjoyed DumpsterVision while celebrating Mona's birthday, got to take Jill out for dinner on her birthday, had lunch a couple of times with my stampyscrappy friends and so I am blessed! Who would have known that just 3-ish years ago when I decided I wanted to start scrapbooking that I would have had this many True friends?!?! I tell ya, Scrapbookers do make the BEST friends! :o)

Ok.. so here are a few pics from the Crop 2 Help Retreat... If you get the chance, you NEED to come to this one next time! We have the Most Fun! And best of all it's for charity! Head on over to the Blog and see what it's all about! Thank You Jerri for allowing me to be a part of this!!! Once again, YOU ROCK!