Lazy Days and Mondays

Yes, it's Monday, and it's been a VERY lazy day. I've been having so many problems sleeping, that I've been on a new drug called Rozerem. Julie, what can you tell me about it??? April??? Anyway, I wanna sleep all the time! So, today, I did wake up at around 6:30 this morning. Not bad.... laid in bed and watched the news until 7:30. Got up, took my thyroid meds, made a cup of pomegranate green tea, turned the TV on (The Today Show), lit the fire and turned on all of the Christmas lights. I vegged out with facebook for a while.... then around 9, made some oatmeal, had some OJ and took the rest of my pills. I cannot believe I take so many pills. I swore I'd never do that..... one is a "happy" pill, one is to keep me from having a cancer recurrance, and I take a couple of baby aspirin for my heart. I ramble....

So, I took a shower, put on minimal makeup, dried my hair, left it straight and then Meg & Kenzie showed up. It's noon.

I played with Kenzie on the ottoman.... she is full of smiles. Quite adorable.... until about 20 min. later, when she all of a sudden stuck out her lower lip and cried.... time to EAT!!! So, I popped a bottle in the bottle warmer, held & rocked her for the several minutes that it takes to warm up the milk.... and she finally ate. She was a happy camper. But did she go to sleep? Nope.... but THIS grandma was hungry, so I decided to put Kenzie to bed in the crib upstairs, with the aquarium music thingy going... and hoped she'd go to sleep. No such luck. Took twice for me to reassure her that I was still around, and she finally nodded off. For an hour. Long enough for me to make a salad, and eat.

Fast forward to 2 PM. Yup, she's awake. I knew she was still tired tho.... so I brought her downstairs, bundled her up in her blankie, gave her a pacifier and she was out like a light, on my chest. I thought she looked so comfy that I decided to try giving sleep a chance. We both zonked out.

Fast forward to 4:30.... Meg's back. Kenzie is still completely zonked. Meg decided to change her diaper & give her a bottle before heading home. Poor Kenzie had to be awakened....

After they left, did I get busy with the bills or with straightening my house???? Heck no..... I just continued to be a lazy housewife.

Yup, it's a Lazy Day & Monday.

I'm baaaaack..... well, sorta

I know, it's been 6 long months since I've blogged..... Oy.... time has gotten away, and with my new laptop, I hadn't changed over all of my stuff, so I'd forgotten, quite frankly, how to sign in! After an hour of working on it this morning, I finally got it. Woo!

Life has been a roller coaster since I last blogged..... in short, let me summarize:

• Meg and I were counselors at summer camp.I noticed how swollen Meg was, and made her put her feet up all the time.
• Meg was something like 27 weeks pregnant at that time.
• fast forward to August 11. Meg developed eclampsia, had 3 grand-mal seizures, nearly died on the spot, and had an emergency c-section, where she delivered a 2 lb 9 oz baby girl, at 30 weeks gestation.


• August was a whirlwind of emotions and trips to the hospital to see Meghan & Mackenzie, who was in the NICU.

• Meg developed cardio-myopathy due to the extremely high blood pressure / eclampsia.
• September - Mackenzie came home sometime around the middle of the month. Meg came home a week or two before that. Both are healthy. Praising God lots and lots.

Okay, all that coupled with starting up another year of the KCC has kept me very busy. We decided to put together a Christmas musical this year.... lots of work. Lots of fun.

Thanksgiving was at my house this year. Loved it. Had all 4 kids over & 3 grandkids. Fun having so much commotion in the house for a change. Dinner, as usual, was splendid, since I'm the best cook I know!

Christmas ~ December was filled with rehearsals, musicals, gift shopping, gift wrapping, caramel making, cookie making with Christian.... busyness of the season. We spent Christmas Eve at Meg's home, had our traditional Christmas Eve party, like my mom used to do every year. The weather was really nasty out, lots of snow / ice. Had a hard time driving home.

Christmas Day was spent at Dyan's home. Had a lovely time. All of my kids were there & the 3 grandchildren. Delightful... Dyan & Meg cooked the most delicious Christmas dinner. I sat around and tried to stay awake and play with the grandkids. Fed Kenzie a few times.... Fed Lily some mashed potatoes. And at about 4:30, I was ready to go home, totally pooped out. Besides, with the amount of snow we had, we wanted to get home before it got dark.

On the way home, turning into our neighborhood, we rescued 2 people who were stuck in the snow. Thank God we have a Hummer and tow rope. Then Don hopped on his ATC which was equipped with a snow plow and rode it to that bad intersection and plowed some snow and rescued 3 more stuck people by helping to push them out..... I think he'll use any excuse to ride his 4 wheeler in the snow! Almost as much fun as riding it at Dumont Dunes in California with his BFF Tim! LOL

Today? I'm still in my jammies, drinking pomegranite green tea and it's after 10:30. Perhaps I should eat. Don's at the church with his ATC plowing. And having a bit of fun, I suspect.

Time to search for a few pics to add to this long-awaited blog...

Cooking Cousin!!

My Aunt Debbie & Mindy.... Aunt Debbie just HAD to get the red bell pepper in the pic! Too funny!~


The rest are just pics of Debbie & Mindy..... and Mindy's cooking that fabulous dinner! OMGosh it was fantastic!

Colorado Vacation, Part 2

A quick continuation of last night....

I sat at the counter in Aunt Debbie's kitchen and watched Mindy & Debbie cook the MOST delicious dinner I've had in like FOREVER..... Mindy made a salad out of leafy greens, artichoke hearts, olives, tomatoes, olive oil & balsamic vinegar, and it was splendid! Then to go with that, she cut up spicy Italian sausages into bite sized pieces, sauted them, drained the fat, then added an organic marinara sauce, touched up with some pinot noir, simmered.... While that was simmering, Aunt Debbie roasted red & green peppers, onions & garlic.... then that was added to the sauce, and the whole thing was put together with penne pasta.... OMGosh, I HAVE to make this for Don. He'll love it.... and it was all whole foods, organic, and simply delicious.

Dinner was over around 10:30..... LOL I know.... late. Then Aunt Debbie & I stayed up talking til almost 1 AM. Oy..... we can talk!!! We shared alot of things about God with each other.... and that was so cool. We both had really good "God" stories.... We were both encouraged. That was good.

***
Had a hard time sleeping..... no TV to lull me to sleep.... but more importantly, no Don to lie beside me..... I do have such a hard time sleeping when he's not there... I finally just got up out of bed, instead of just laying there.... that was around 7:30... made coffee, stood outside for a while gazing at the splendor of Colorado.... this is such a beautiful place.

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And that's my life so far...... the house is so quiet!

My Colorado Vacation, part 1

COLORADO OR BUST!!!

Okay, so I'm doing it. I'm taking a vacation all by myself! People asked me if I was afraid to go by myself. Heck, Don even suggested I pack his 9 mm.... But, I'm not really afraid. Dyan's BIL is a cop, and he procured for me a thing of pepper spray, cop strength, and it's attached to my keychain. It's amazing how safe I feel with that little red canister!

So, I left KC yesterday, and was finally on the road by 10 AM. I'm driving the little yellow convertible, with the top down.... Don got it all fixed up for me, by attaching a luggage rack to a hitch on the back of the car. I just thought it'd be so much fun driving thru Colorado with my car top down (needed to clarify that, so says Don).... I drove yesterday until about 6:30 last night... then I was really tuckered out.... I ended up stopping in Limon, CO, at a very nice Holiday Inn... Got something to eat, and was in bed before 9. Sure felt good.

Day 2 of my Independent Vacation:
I got up early, well, actually Don called me at 6:30. Nice way to be woken up. Is "woken" even a word??? Anyway, talked to Don for a bit, then got up, made my coffee... got cleaned up & was out on the road again by 8:15. I decided to take the "scenic" route to Aunt Debbie's..... and the GPS thingy was going crazy. I'm surprised someone didn't pop out of it and smack me up side the head..... I went off of I 70 and onto hwy 86. I'm so glad I did! It was a lovely ride for a bit over an hour.... thru amazing rolling hills, scattered farms & ranches, very few trees at the beginning of this route..... and then all of a sudden, there were mountains!!! Yay!!! And trees! Lots and lots of pine trees.... It was beautiful.

My faithful friend, Ms. GPS safely & correctly guided me to my aunt's house. Boy, does she live in a nice house! Got here, and basically, we haven't stopped talking! I sure do love my Aunt Debbie..... She's having a tough time right now with her MS symptoms... and currently is napping.... I love seeing my cousin, Mindy too.....

It's been pretty rainy today..... good thing I'm here! And I almost didn't get the top raised in time to keep from soaking the inside of the car!

***
Other news: Farrah Fawcett & Michael Jackson both died today. Sad....

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And that's my life so far....

Okay, Okay...... an UPDATE..... Sheesh!

Okay, so long time, no blogging, eh? Didn't really mean to neglect my blog.... just been pretty busy, doing other things. I love being on Facebook, and that takes up most of my computer time for now...

Anyway, my life since last April 24th, (so says my Dad). Actually, I didn't think you read my blog, Dad..... Glad you do!

Okay, end of April, first part of May, I was very busy directing our spring musical with the Kaleidoscope Children's Choir. This year, we performed "Camp Wallaballa". It was alot of fun, but alot of work too! I was working fulltime the last several weeks of production. Had so much to do.... including running rehearsals, 2 per week since the end of February; directing the KCC Band during rehearsals for them; putting together the powerpoint; formatting the program and preparing it for printing; stage construction; set construction & decorations; coordinating receptions, or at least making sure someone was in charge of that; oh, and numerous other things that I don't even wanna think about right now. In the end, the musical was a smashing success, and was enjoyed by all. I have a few pictures here from the musical. If you wanna see more pics, check out my facebook photo album.

After the musical & KCC Awards Ceremony were over, then I had the Choir 3 BBQ at our home. That was the following weekend. Lots of fun. The kids enjoyed the X-Box & the hot tub. These kids always look forward to this party at the end of the choir year.

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Mother's Day ~ was very nice. Don bought me a tree for my garden & the girls each gave me a beautiful bouquet of roses, and the kids all came over for dinner. Nice, relaxing afternoon.

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We are anxiously awaiting Lily Swim's arrival. Dyan was due last Wednesday, but no Lily yet. I took her to the doctor today, because I just knew that they'd probably keep her. Not today, tho. They strapped the monitors on her and everything looks good. They are concerned about deterioration though, and Dyan has been dilated to 2 for a while.... so, with the midwife, Dyan decided to go ahead and induce. She will check into the hospital on Tuesday evening and get prepped. Then Wednesday morning, the midwife will break her waters and the fun will begin. I just can't wait to hold her....

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I bought a new piano a few weeks ago. Actually, I traded in my old piano for a better piano. I traded in my Wurlitzer spinet for a Boston upright made by Steinway. It has such a richer sound, and I'm really enjoying playing it. I'm about to begin my 3rd year of lessons with Paula....

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I cannot wait to go off of this tamixofen!!! I'm so sick of being so overweight... No matter what I do, nothing helps. My doctor told me in January that I wouldn't be able to lose any weight until I go off of the tamixofen. It's so frustrating..... I hate seeing myself in pictures. So depressing..... Oy.....

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So Meg is having a little girl! Her baby is due October 14th. I'm so happy for her. She's always wanted to be a mommy - a stay at home mommy, and that is what she's planning on doing. I'm so proud of her. She will be using the crib that Don made before Dyan was born. She's also going to use the dresser that we used when she was a baby. It's an antique, and so very cool. I"m excited for her.....

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Plans for this summer? Don & I will be pulling the trailer and driving to Meridian, Idaho in August to attend our former pastor's daughter's wedding. We will camp on the way out, and camp on the way back, stopping at Mt. Rushmore, and visiting other friends who moved to South Dakota, or is it North Dakota? I cannot remember, but will figure it out before we head out.

I'm also considering driving to Denver and visiting my aunt for a few days, and then driving over to Grand Junction to visit with Julie & her family. Not sure if that will happen yet, but am thinking about it.

I do plan to spend a few weeks with Dyan, once she's home from the hospital.

And then there's the KCC year to plan out.... gotta choose a Christmas musical, and curriculum for the year. Got to get the calendar put together for rehearsals & room reservations. Lots to do....

***
And that's my life so far...... Enjoy the pictures!

Random Thoughts... with coffee in hand....

1. I love Starbucks..... venti skinny latte', 3 pumps white chocolate mocha, no whip. MMMmmmm....

2. My grandson, Christian.... completely adorable! He spoiled me rotten yesterday. I dropped Cali off at the groomer, which she BADLY needed, and was swinging by the bank to get some $$$, and the phone rings. "Hello?" "Hello, Grandma!" "Hello Christian! I love you!" "I come to your house, Grandma?" "Yes, Christian, come to my house!" "MOM, I DON'T HAVE A CAR, JORY HAS IT." "No problem, I'll just drive over and get him." "YAY, Grandma!!!"

3. Christian & I went to Target, mainly to get me some more groceries, and we HAD to buy a train... a Thomas the Train train set. Train set = $40.00. Extra engine named Billy = $10.99. Extra set of 2 cars that make silly giggling sounds = $10.99. Watching Christian play with the train set for FOUR HOURS = PRICELESS. In fact, I had to beg him to go outside and play with me.... He didn't wanna go home, poor Dyan...

4. I picked up boulders today for using on the set of "Camp Wallaballa." Wendy Hix at Hix & Sons Aquatics & Artificial Rocks is loaning them to me. Actually, I'll buy two of them and keep at my house in my garden... They are so cool. I can pick them up & carry them without getting winded, AND they are so sturdy, the kids can sit on them or stand on them during our production. I love them.

5. I found what I want for Mother's Day. At Wendy's house, she has a bubbling bird bath.... I want it. It's a fountain, with the top being shaped like a birdbath. It can sit next to our deck, in the bed with the holly bush & ivy ground cover... underneath a bird feeder. It will have a lovely gurgling sound, and give the birds a great place to bathe.... I want it.

6. The children's musical is coming together nicely. But boy, it's a LOT of work. I feel like I'm always running 2 steps behind on everything... I completely forgot about arranging for the reception after the Sunday night performance.... so had to quickly rally up some cookies and make sure my friend C. K. would be taking care of the decorating & manning the stations, and she'll also take care of the punch. I need to send her a list of those who have responded to my email requests for cookies...

The set is complete, except for the backdrop, which my friend E. N. will be painting a mountain scene on. Yay for good friends / choir moms who are also artists. She's also hosting a baby shower for Dyan on Saturday.... cannot wait.

The kids were singing so lackluster last Wed. I don't know what is up with that. They totally lacked energy. I was a little cranky, and I really need to try making it more fun for the kids. I think they're having fun.... I called Shelly, my Choir 2 director, after last week's rehearsal and asked if she thought I was too cranky, or what I need to do to change, and she was very supportive. Dyan & Meg both say that they're gonna keep me drugged up on percoset next week, lolol. Silly girls. I'll be OKAY, you hear me??? It's just that the kids were not cooperating with me and there were TOO MANY PEOPLE in the gym making noise that was very distracting to the kids. Dyan said we should have closed rehearsals from now on. No more youth kids congregating in the back watching.... no more choir parents congregating in the back chatting it up... The sound / light / powerpoint tech people need to keep it quiet... So, that the kids can concentrate and keep their focus on me, the director! They were so lackluster last week in their singing, that it was completely under pitch. Not acceptable.... So, what can I do? I can bring the tempo up a bit, make sure the drummer is there to add energy.... and well, I dunno what else. I'm fried out just thinking about it right now.

My goals in this musical: 1~ to give the children life long memories of serving the Lord thru the musical; 2~ to get the promises of God put into their beings, so that they will recall those scriptures when they need it; 3~ to help them feel empowered to teach the gospel thru the music that they sing; 4~ to encourage the children in the work that they are doing in putting this production together; 5~ to make the teen helpers feel empowered and confident in their roles as staff members of the KCC; 6~ to spread the Word of God through the music & script; 7~ to bring others into the church thru our ministry

7. Okay, Don just called and wants to meet me for lunch. The Peanut.... they have pretty good burgers, which sounds really good today.

8. I love my husband. He totally helped me with the garden this week. The past several summers, I have not had time, nor energy to work in the garden, and it was overcome with weeds. I love my garden, and this year, I have the energy to put it back together. However, I don't have the strength anymore. So, on Tuesday, I went to the deck and took out the old mums from the fall, and planted my potato vines. Task Done. Then I went to the small bed next to the deck, where my holly bush is. I needed to hoe away the weeds. It's about a 4 x 4 size of bed, and I thought I was going to DIE. Literally. I got it done, and bagged the weeds, and planted ivy for ground cover. Then I had to take an iced tea break. Don came home and asked why doesn't he just go get a roto tiller and till up the garden beds. So, I relented, especially since we have clay soil and hoeing it was nearly killing me. He came home again with a tiller and a great tool that I absolutely loved using.... an attachment to our propane tank with a torch on it, and I BURNED those weeds away!!! Nearly caught the picket fence on fire too, but Don was ready with the hose. So, my five large beds were completely burned up. Don then tilled the soil, I put Preen on it and raked it in, and then did the planting. I put in 5 tomatoes, 2 are grape tomatoes & 3 are large tomatoes. In my perennial bed I planted about 20 new plants - several butterfly bushes, salvia, sedum, gardilla (sp?) and it's quite lovely now. I also have an herb bed and I saved one of my chive plants and replanted it after burning & tilling.... I need to purchase my herbs to put back out there. Have you ever smoked burning mint & oregano??? My oh my...... The other bed is my bulb bed and it's full of daffodils right now, and my peony is starting to bloom & I have a rose bush & a hydrangea there. Both are coming back from the winter. The center small bed is waiting for an ornamental tree.... probably a dwarf dogwood. Then I just need to get Jory to bring me a load of mulch, and i"m good to go. I love my garden and will take pics soon....

8. Gotta go meet Don for lunch...... So see ya latahhhhhhhh.....

An Update, a Quick Update....

Okay SCOTT, I'm updating! (but honestly, I have no idea why you read my blog.... I"m so boring!)

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It's Easter Weekend. Last night was our Maundy Thursday service. It commemorates the Last Supper. I love these Holy Week services, because if nothing else in our faith & religion, our faith and religion hinge on this weekend's events being factual. If it weren't true, why would we believe? And I do believe. I have seen clear evidence of how God works in our lives. Julie, He is real. And He loves you.

Tonight is our Good Friday service, commemorating the crucifixion. My favorite phrase for tonight is, "It's Friday, but Sunday's coming!" Yes, indeed. My children's choir, the Choir 3 group, will be singing tonight.... "A Lenten Love Song".

Now Jesus went into the garden.
The garden of Gethsamane.
He went there sad and very weary
to be alone to pray.

"Dear God, your Son is sorrowful
is there no other way?
Dear God if it is possible
let this cup pass away.

Now Jesus went into the garden.
The garden of Gethsamane.
The olive tree bent over Him
and heard Him sadly pray.

"Dear God, Your Son is sorrowful
but knows Your way is best.
Let love take hold of me
help me to be bold and free
to do your will.
to do your will.
to DO YOUR WILL
and rest.

Ubi caritas, et amor.
Ubi caritas, deus ibi est.
Translation:
Where Charity and Love are found, God is there.

Meditate on those words. Where CHARITY and LOVE are found.... GOD IS THERE.

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I cannot wait for Easter morning. Big day at church..... breakfast at 8:00. I teach my toddler class at 9:00. I will attend worship at 10:30. Great music, great testimonies, great message, and we serve a risen Lord, hallelujah!

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Meghan is very sick. She cannot stop throwing up. She is losing lots of weight. She spent the other night in the ER getting fluids pumped back into her. Poor thing.... Wish I could do something for her. It's hard as a mother to see your child hurting so badly and not being able to do anything to help her.

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The musical set is built. YAY. I have a wonderful choir dad - Barth, who helped out so much. I got the set painted with the help of Dyan & the Sciolaro family. We also put up the skirting around the stage. It's looking good! A few more weeks and this musical is OVER. Yay! I'm looking forward to the break. I need the break! There's just so much left to do beforehand.... oy....

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Dyan & I are going to see The Phantom of the Opera on Tuesday night next week. I cannot wait! We'll go out to dinner first, just the two of us.... and then to the theatre, sitting down close to the stage. It's my Christmas gift, and my heart is touched, and I'm so excited to go! We'll get all dressed up too! Yay!

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Christian is simply adorable. THe other day, while Dyan & I were painting the stage, he was playing in the gym. He was having a ball. And when I was really thirsty, we went and got a bottle of water from the machine, and we sat down and shared it. And every time he'd take a drink from the bottle, he'd look at me and smile really big and say, "Thank you, Grandma!" ADORABLE. I just love that little boy.... he's so special to me. I never had a son. Always wanted one, but it was never to happen. So, this grandson of mine is kinda filling that void. I love being with him..... always. Having grandkids is so much fun, I can't wait to have more! Oh wait......... May / June & October is coming!!! YAY!

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And that's my life so far....

Another update....

That is a boring title, if I ever heard one..... I just am blank on what to say... But Dyan updated and I stole a picture from her site, and decided to update & post a picture of my granddaughter, Lilly here....

Isn't she adorable? It's amazing what technology can do these days. I wish I had something like that available when I was pregnant. Heck, I didn't even have ANY sonograms while pregnant...

***

Bible study was great today. I love hearing our speaker, and I love my ladies... Today was about having faith. We were in Luke 24. We also talked about spiritual darkness and the signs of it....

I made a play date with one of the ladies in my group. Thursday is her birthday, so I'll be going over to her house that morning with a breakfast casserole, and we'll spend some good quality time together. I'm really looking forward to that. I'm trying to knock down the walls around me... little by little, I'm chiseling away. I'm learning to trust that people will love me and LIKE me, even with all that's happening in our personal lives. I've been able to share some stuff about Don, and ya know what? People still love us, and are so supportive, and so caring. I'm so thankful for my Christian friends.... I'm learning the importance of having girlfriends in my life again. It's been a long time coming.... and I'm grateful.

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Cali, the Peeing Dog. Well, we thought that since Beauty, the cat who died from feline AIDS, had made a mess of our dining room carpet, and Cali had to cover it up with her scent.... we thought that once we ripped out that carpeting and had some new stuff installed, that that would take care of the problem. WRONG. Twice this week, Cali, the Peeing Dog, has done her duty in there. Last night, she got a spanking and nose rubbed in it..... and then.......

Don, the genius in our house, decided to put the "I'm-a-Bad-Girl" wire across the dining room. Cali wears her "I'm a Bad Girl" collar all the time, since we have the back yard wired around the fence in order to keep her from escaping... well, he put that wire across the dining room, and VOILA!!! Problem solved. She tried going into the dining room several times last night, and very quickly hoofed it outta there before the shock came.... and the same thing happened this morning. So.... no more pee. But.... I have a red wire laying on my dining room carpet.

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I need to be working on choir today. I finally remembered to bring home a musical book & CD to send to my friend, Julie & her daughter.... I will get that in the mail to her tomorrow.... And so the rest of this afternoon needs to be spent doing clerical work for the musical. I need to 1) figure out where each child will stand 2) put together the Promises database 3) send out a reminder to parents that we are singing this Sunday 4) send words to "The Lost Boy" to the powerpoint person for Sunday morning 5) send out a reminder to the youth choir that we ARE rehearsing this Sunday 6) get money ready to turn in again 7) work on the script for the powerpoint 8) get the promises ready for the kids to decorate, starting tomorrow 9) put the props list together and start purchasing what I need 10) check into buying fake rocks for the set 11) design the set officially, so that the dads who will build the stage know what I want 12) design the backdrops & get them ready to paint 13) send parents information that they need, such as the fact that each child will need to have a backpack for use during the musical.... and the list goes on and on. Lots to do.

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We had a great time last weekend seeing family we hadn't seen in years. Dan & Val flew out from Hawaii, and Dan's daughters, Adrienne & Carly flew in from San Francisco... And we saw family who lives in Chicago now..... and all in all, it was a great time! This is the first time that all 7 cousins from the Plaskett side of the family have been together in years. We got lots of good pictures. As soon as Carly sends them to me, I'll post them.

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Spring is here! I plan to spend Thursday afternoon working out in the yard / garden. I need to cut down all of the ornamental grasses & bag them up. I need to put mulch around the trees. I need to hoe the garden beds and get rid of the debris from last year's garden... bag it all up & send it to recycling.... I'm anxious to get this years garden going. I plan on working in it as often as I can. I'm ready to get the tomatoes planted, along with some new herbs and perennials. Don chopped the heck out of the herbs last year, so I'm hoping that they come back. I"m sure my bulbs are all sprouting. Need to go and see. The Aristocrat Pear trees are all in bloom right now. The lilacs can't be far behind. And I need to get the deck all cleaned off and get a new umbrella for our table. Ready for having coffee outside in the mornings...... lovely!

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And that's my life so far...

The Day After....

Grabbing a diet coke.... BRB....

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Yes, it's only 11:30 in the morning, and I'm drinking a diet coke. So sue me. I'd really prefer a Starbuck's vente skinny latte, 3 pumps of white chocolate mocha, but hey.... I'm in my jammies still, and didn't wanna run over there. And my coffee making stuff in the kitchen, well, let's not go there.

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Last night was our big family dinner over at Dyan's. I got to her house, groceries & kitchen tools in tow, at about 2 PM. Started cooking right about then.... What did I make? Well, I had 2 big cookie sheets with about 20 filets of mahi mahi on them. And I made 3 types of salsa / sauces to go with them. The first one I made was the black bean salsa. It was so yummy... and easy, schmeazy to make. It sat on the counter for several hours for all of the flavors to blend. Next I made the salsa verde. It was more complicated, and I was going by memory from how we made it while in Mazatlan. And I kinda changed it up a bit. And the results were phenomenal. First I prepped all of the veggies ~ sliced the onion, prepared the serrano peppers & big green pepper, pablano, I think, and I prepared about 10 tomatillas... oh, and the garlic was in the oven roasting... talk about smelling good! I used my le cruset cooktop grill and grilled the onions first in some olive oil. After that, I set the onions aside and grilled the peppers until they were soft and smushy and nicely grilled. Took them off and on went the tomatillas. They really smoked up Dyan's house. I was afraid that the smoke alarms were going to go off and wake Christian up from his nap. I had on every fan I could find to dissipate the smoke..... but it sure smelled good! I took the garlic out from the oven, and popped about 6 cloves into the food processor. I mushed it for about 2 seconds. Then I added the onions, blended it up, then the peppers, blended them up, and finally the tomatillas. It's really smelling & looking good. I added salt, cilantro and about 3 avocados along with the juice from about 6 limes. Whipped it all up and oy.... yummy. Put it in the fridge to let the flavors "blend".

Next I made the corn & crab salsa.... That was also easy and so delicious! Chopped up an onion, added some salt & juice from about 4 limes. Stirred it up and let it sit for 15 minutes. Meanwhile I cooked a bag of frozen corn in the microwave. After the 15 minutes, I added the corn to the onions, along with 6 ounces of lump crab meat and some cilantro, and an avocado, diced up. Stirred it up and popped it into the fridge.

Then I marinated half of the fish, and left the rest to be grilled plain. I also cooked scallopped potatoes, steamed asparagus, and a big tossed salad. We had some really good bread with olive oil... and the whole dinner was scrumptious!

It was fun having the family all over. It was the first time in years that Don & his brother & sisters have all been together. Fun times were had last night. There was lots of laughter, and that was great! Everyone is in town for our nephew's wedding this coming weekend. We'll get together again on Thursday night, and then Friday & Saturday.

***
Don can no longer eat mahi mahi. When we came home, he spent about 4 hours straight, in the bathroom throwing everything up out of his tummy..... Poor guy. I don't remember when I've ever seen him that sick. The first two times he ate some of his catch, he got sick, and we thought it was a fluke. First was in Cabo after we ate some of the fish at Soloman's Landing. Thought it was just perhaps the way they cleaned & cooked it. Then when we had some fish after coming home, same thing. And then again, last night. So, girls, you'll get the rest of the frozen fish. Half to Dyan, half to Meg... Enjoy!

***
So, yeah, I didn't sleep well last night..... Don was sooooo sick, and I kept waking up worrying about him..... So, yeah.... I'm rather "foggy" today.

***
Choir day..... yup, lots to do. I really need to get busy and get my shower done & start working on the computer, doing planning for choir. I have the promises to get listed and sent out to parents, I have lesson plans to prepare, I have monies to organize for turning in today, I have musical production planning to do, props to list, kids to organize onto the risers, and the list goes on and on. Oh, and I HAVE to order the orchestrations today and get the orchestra rehearsal schedule out to the coordinator. Sheesh, should have done that 3 weeks ago.

***
My perfectly clean kitchen now looks like a tornado swept through it again. The counters are all covered with the tools I took to Dyan's yesterday. Including all of my coffee stuff.... all in the basket waiting to be put away. I really need to get busy.

***
And that's my life so far...

Okay, so my mouth is too big.

Yeah, sometimes I get so excited about stuff that I share things that are not supposed to be shared with the entire cyberworld. So....yeah. That's just me. So sorry..... didn't mean to.

***
Today, Monday. Blech..... I am overwhelmed with the amount of work to be done at my house. So I end up playing Word Twist instead. Not good. Procrastination gets nothing accomplished. Laundry is in the machine right now... and I have several loads to fold & put away. How can 2 people generate SO MUCH laundry? Oy....

***
Okay, so the entire family is coming to KC this week for a wedding. My nephew, Hyler Cooper will be marrying Katie Rowe this weekend. Dan & Val are flying in from Hawaii tonight. Don has to pick them up at midnight tonight. He took the little yellow car over to his mom's house for them to use this week. Dan's daughters are flying in this weekend from San Francisco. This will be the first time in YEARS that all of the cousins on the Plaskett side of the family will be together. Lots of picture taking opportunities, I'm sure.

***
How does one repair a broken key on the keyboard? My (') key keeps flopping off of the computer every time I push the shift button. I can't get it to stay. Oh wait, maybe I fixed it! So far, so good.

***
Tomorrow is the Family Fish Dinner at Dyan's house. I told her that if we could have the dinner at her house, I'd provide all the food. Who will be there? Don & me, Dyan & Jory & Christian, Meg & Drew, Mom, Pat & Brandi, Pam, Dan & Val, and possibly the bride, Katie. Fourteen people to eat fish. We will be having the mahi-mahi that Don caught in Cabo this year. To go with it, I will make a marvelously large tossed salad, and some sort of carb dish, like scallopped potatoes or corn casserole. I will also make several sauses / relishes to use with the fish. I'll make a green sauce, using the recipe we learned while in Mazatlan, and I'll make a corn / black bean salsa, and some sort of red salsa. We'll also have some sort of artisan type of bread. Yum. Dyan will provide drinks and dessert. Fun times. So, tomorrow, I'm hitting the grocery store early, and taking everything over to Dyan's. Everything includes my food processor, large AND small, my fancy salad spinner, and my casserole dishes. Busy day...

***
I have a whole buncha work to do for the musical. I need to send out a list of promises from God's word to the choir parents and have their child pick one to claim as their own. Then I need to get the big promise sheets ready for the kids to decorate. And I need to figure out who will be standing where, so I can figure out what color of t-shirts to order for whom. And I need to organize the monies that have been collected and turn them into the church office to be credited to the KCC account. This is just for starters this week. Wednesday needs to be a "get up early" day..... ugh. I do not like getting up early. I'd rather stay up late. It's a bone of contention between Don & me. He's a get up early kinda guy..... and I'm a stay up late kinda chick.

***
And that's my life so far....

The Much Anticipated Update - FINALLY ;-P

Yup, it's been a while. So sorry to have neglected you, Ms. Blog.... I shall try to remedy that right now.... but before getting started with the typing, I really need to go potty & grab some OJ & Fig Newtons.... it's gonna be a long one. BRB

***
Okay... all set. Let's begin..... Let's see, the last time I blogged, I think it was when I was in Cabo.... or just after getting home. Yup, we had a great time. It was very peaceful and relaxing, which was nice for a change. The past several years, we've had family members or friends with us, and it's just not as relaxing as otherwise, when we are alone. But that's okay... We did have a wonderful time this year, and I did spend a day swimming with the dolphins, the highlight of the week for me. Don went deep sea fishing and caught 5 dorado (aka dolphin fish, aka mahi-mahi) and had it fileted and we sliced it up and put it into individual ziplock baggies and froze them. Brought them all home in a cooler, about 50 filets. We plan to have a fish dinner at Dyan's next week, when family members are all in town for a wedding next weekend. Anyway.... Cabo was fun. I was hoping to have downloaded more pictures by now, but haven't gotten around to it. Soon...

***
It's Spring Musical Time. This year's selection is "Camp Wallaballa", published by Lillenas Kids, part of the Lillenas Publishing Company, and of which I'm on an advisory board for. We preview music submitted by composers / arrangers, and critique them and either send them back for revisions, or send them on to be published. This musical is one of those. And it's written by one of the ladies I serve on this council with. Pamela Vanderwalker is her name. The musical is darling... it's all about relying on God's promises to help you make it through life. Julie, I'm going to send you a copy of the musical book & the CD. I think Chloe would really like the music and the story. So, at any rate, we had auditions for the special cast parts, and now we're underway with 2 rehearsals a week. Wednesdays are the music rehearsals, and Saturdays are the drama rehearsals. Tomorrow (the 14th) will be our 2nd drama rehearsal. We will tackle Scenes 3 & 4 tomorrow. The following week, we'll review scenes 1 - 4. We have 2 rehearsals a week until performance time. Busy times.... but I love it. And good news!!! Today, I completed the plans for the choreography! Woot Woot! Easy schmeazy.... The set for the play will be really cool.... a main stage, flanked by two smaller sub-sets... with a wooden bridge connecting them all. The scenes all take place in a rural setting, after their bus breaks down on the way to camp. Very simple scenery... and this year, I think I'll paint murals for the backdrops. Fun times ahead... I haven't done mural painting since leaving California. The last 6 musicals have had very simple sets. So, time to have more fun, eh?

***

Dyan is getting bigger by the MINUTE.... Lilly is growing and growing. I cannot wait to hold that sweet baby girl. Dyan is having a very good pregnancy. So far, she's only gained 2 lbs... Crazy, eh? She has lost weight over her whole body, but gained in the belly! She's looking so good.... and I'm glad for her. She is getting ready to paint the baby's room and get it all decorated. Her wall color will be sort of a dusty purple, light color... and there will be butterfly accents all around. I think her friend, Emily, will be painting big pictures on the walls... flowers maybe? Butterflies? We'll see. However it turns out, I'm sure it will be precious.

***
Christian.... one of the lights of my life! The other day, when we were babysitting him, and his Papa came home, Christian jumped up, reached up for his Grandpa, and said, "Hey Big Guy!!!" I tell you what, Don & I about died laughing!!! It was the CUTEST thing I've ever heard him say. I just adore Christian.... and I love being with him. He is just adorable... He's 2 1/2 and inquisitive, and into EVERYTHING..... and is starting to use the power of reason. His language has really developed, and his personality is quirky and funny! Love that boy....

***
My house. It's a disorganized mess right now. I can't stand it. So today, I tackled the kitchen. I had stuff under my kitchen sink that had to have been there since we moved in, way back in 1997!!!! OMGosh..... yuck! I pulled out stuff in search of my Magic Eraser. Never did find that.... but found lots of other junk... all to be tossed away.

My dining room still has the tablecloth on the table from our Super Bowl party, back at the beginning of February! And the punch bowl. And the serving dishes. And the buffet still has all the liquor bottles on it from our party. Noone really drank, but we had stuff out just in case. They're still there. And, the limes were still there too, but Christian found them last week and hid them all over the house. I found a lime in the couch the other day. All hard. Limes just get hard. LOL Oh, and the table is still pulled over to the side of the room, in front of the window. Oy..... I need to get it all put back in order. I feel more peaceful when my house is in order.

My closet. I purged clothes from it last week. I tossed the give away clothes all over my bed, from both my side of the closet & Don's. And then, I made a pile of clothes to be washed and put it on the floor at the end of my bed. It looks like my bedroom threw up clothes! But the bad thing is this: Monday afternoon, after I'd tossed the clothes everywhere, I left to go to my piano lesson. Well, while I was gone, Jory & one of the other workers brought a piece of drywall to our house, and in order to help Don out, they decided to carry it up to my bathroom. To get to my bathroom, you must pass through my bedroom. When I realized that someone passed by my room-barfed-up clothes, I was mortified. Oh well.... whatcha gonna do???

My office. Oh, where to start??? My craft table is completely covered up with piles of this and piles of that. Magazines. Music. Musical books. Pictures. Music. More music. And my desk has papers all over it. I am overwhelmed with medical papers, of which I don't know if I need to keep the insurance "weekly reports" or not.... and they are overrunning my desk. Sheesh. I just need to get a file drawer just for all of the stuff from United Healthcare. I will feel so much better when my desktop is clean. And I will feel so much better when my craft table is cleaned off. I love my office and I love my artsy fartsy furniture... and I want to enjoy my room again.

***
The bathroom remodel is coming along! The 12 inch rain showerhead came in the mail today. It is sooooooooo freakin' cool! Don will be working in the shower tomorrow, finishing the lining for making it waterproof... Tonight we went to the Tile Store and bought samples of the tiles that will go in the floor of the shower, as well as 2 of the travertine tiles that will go on the shower walls & a piece of the trim tile. It's so cool. The tiles for the shower floor are the same colors as the floor of the bathroom that Don installed forever ago... but they're little 1 inch mosaic tiles. So cool. The travertine tiles are beige and the trim piece looks like little gothic churches, in the same color mosaic tiles as the floors are. And with the glass blocks on the outside of the shower wall, it will be one rockin' shower! The end is getting more in sight. I will take updated pictures soon.

***
I like my hair. It's getting long. I've never had long hair before. And I've never been without bangs since I was an infant! I kinda like it. But, I'll like it a whole lot better when I can get this weight off. My doctor said that the weight will come off once I go off of Tamixofen. The tamixofen caused me to gain the weight and so when I go off of it in 2 1/2 years, I'll be able to lose it again. Ugh.... I hate being overweight. But the alternative is to risk a recurrance of my cancer. Don't want that either. I guess I should just pray more often for the Lord to help me stay away from carbs! That would probably help too... And I need to get back to the gym. Got out of the habit since our vacations.

***
And that's my life so far....

Cabo Day 2 & Probably 3

*grabbing my coffee laced with French Vanilla after suffering a night of post nasal drips and getting up before the sun*

It's Day 3.... but let me recap Day 2....

Day 2 was wonderful, again. Got up a little late... 7:30ish... got some coffee, sat around and read for a couple of ours. Got my shower & went to meet some sales guy to talk about what's new here for owners, have lunch & listen to him try and sell us another timeshare. He did take us on a tour of "The Ridge" section of Playa Grande.... which was marvelous. Such views!!! They look over the city of Cabo... I could see INTO the dolphin place... very cool. We could see the entire marina and The Office too.... it was lovely. Anyway, after the lunch & schpiel... we turned him down and went on to an afternoon of sunbathing. Actually, I sunbathed and Don walked into town to get some better fishing things... oh, lures. Then he came back and we decided to go to the "adult" hot tub for a while... it's so beautiful. We can look right over the ocean. And we saw some people who are neighbors of ours here at Playa Grande... we have seen them every year that we've been here. It was nice seeing them.... Then we headed to the condo to get changed & freshened up for dinner. Grabbed a taxi and headed to The Office. I looooooove that place. We were seated at a table right on the edge of the place, yeah, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ALL THE BEACH VENDORS... LOL Just kept shooing them away. But, the coolest thing of all was the moon!!! OMGosh.... I was reminded of God's glory, and the magnificence of his creativity!!! The moon was HUGE and orange, on the horizon of the Sea of Cortiz.... and the longer it moved up into the sky, the whiter it became and it shown right across the sea in the most splendid display of beauty I've seen in a loooong time. It was something like out of a painting, but better, because it was of God's hand!!! Magnificent. Don tried taking pictures of it, and hopefully one of them turned out. We should try uploading pictures sometime later today.

After dinner, we grabbed a taxi and came back to Playa Grande.... I watched the last half of "Becoming Jane", the story of Jane Austin.... so sad! But beautiful. And after checking my emails & facebook, I turned in.

Today, I plan to find my spot around one of the pools, hopefully the "adult" one... and veg out all day. Gonna read, probably finish my first book & start in on another.... and most likely will SLEEP, since I didn't do a lot of it last night. Dang cold...

Tonight, we're gonna try out Edith's. It's a restaurant that is very difficult to get into - always full. Gonna go see the concierge about setting up a reservation for us. That should work.

Okay, so I heard from Dyan this morning.... my Cali Girl found a possum in Dyan's back yard!!! GOOD GIRL!!!! She's a bunny hunter & possum finder!!! LOLOL That's my girl!!! I miss her and hope that she's being a good girl!

Don's out fishing right now. He left before the sun came up. Hopefully he'll catch some today.... alot of guys were catching Sterling yesterday. If he does catch some, then he'll filet them and we'll go to Soloman's Landing instead for dinner, and have them cook the fish for us. Lovely...

Wish you ALL could be here with us.... This is probably the MOST relaxing vacation I think I've EVER had.... no schedules... no entertaining anyone... we are doing what we wanna do, and enjoying every minute of it.

And that's my vacation so far...

Cabo, Day 1

Hola, mi Amigas!!! We made it to Sunny Cabo.... in record time, too! This morning began at 2:55 AM for us.... got up, washed the face, put some makeup on, got dressed, and out the door we went. Got to the airport by 5 AM. The kiosk at American Airlines asked us if we wanted to upgrade to first class??? Excuse me??? Heck yeah!!! So for an additional $90 total, we upgraded for the first leg of our journey. Niiiice.... or as Meg would say, "Sweet"...

We had to sit with the normal peops from Dallas to Cabo.... a pretty unremarkable flight... no bumps in the air or anything. Still couldn't sleep, tho.... :-(

We got into Cabo at 11:30 this morning, 12:30 Missouri time.... Sweet! Since our flight was one of the first to arrive for the day, there was virtually NO line going thru customs. We were through customs, had our luggage and ran the gauntlet thru the time share peons, and out the door we went. Okay.... so cool, right? It gets even better....

We always use Baja Transportation for our trip from the airport to Playa Grande... about a 45 minute drive. We pre-pay, and usually ALWAYS share a big fat van with several other people. Well.... NOT TODAY!!! We had a private suburban, all to ourselves!!! And just outside the airport, the driver stopped at a little shop so we could do some "beer" shopping.... LOL The ride to Playa Grande was luxurious.... lovely. Israel was our driver's name.... niiiiice.

We got to Playa Grande at about 1 PM. Checkin is normally at 4 PM. BUT..... TODAY.... our room was already ready for us!!! SWEET..... So, we put our bags away, or rather, the bellboy brought them down to our condo.... and we jumped into our swimming suits and headed out for about an hour and a half of good, quality sunbathing! Sweet!!! So, around 3:30, we decided to get dressed and walk into town. But.... just about everything was closed, guess because it's a Sunday. No problem... One of our favorite restaurants was open, Panchos.... and so we just went there and had dinner. I downed 2 bottles of agua.... and Don had his beloved sopa de tortilla. I had carne asada.... scrumptions. And we had musicians... Lovely.

We walked back to the resort.... got our suits back on again, and went to the hot tub for adults only, next to the beach... and watched the sunset... Can I hear a collective "Ahhhhhh"??? Afterwards, we came back to the condo.... I put my stuff all away.... and now I'm sitting on the computer....

I'll try and download pics tomorrow.... Got some great "food" shots.

Oh, one weird thing about the Internet service here in our room? Well, all of the instructions for my facebook page and for my blogspot page are in Spanish.... weird. I tried logging into Julie's blog, but I don't think that the computer could read my name or password!!! Weird...

Nuf for today.... Tomorrow, I'm sleeping in, then gonna have a "owner's" lunch at 11:45.... I HAD to sign up for it, especially since she threw in two free trips on a whale watching boat.... oy.... Afterwards, I plan on doing some serious sunning....

Adios!

The Long-Awaited Update

Okay, Julie.... here goes0n update.... Let's just hope I don't get it all typed out and then accidentally hit the esc. button and wipe it all out. I've done that before.... NOT FUN!! You see, I love to hit this button ~ and it's right under the esc. button, and I get to typing so fast that I make a slip, and BAM.... it's all gone. Let's hope that this doesn't happen, because if it does, I'm not about to re-type it.

***
Okay, so we're leaving on Sunday for Cabo. Our flight leaves KC at 6 AM. Yes, that's before the sun comes up. And since it's an International flight, that means that we have to be there by 4 AM. That stinks.... and in fact, the last few times that we've flown to Cabo that early, the people don't even show up at the gate until at least 5.... so why bother getting there so early? Ugh... that means that I'll have to leave our house by 3 AM. which means I have to get up by 2:30... slap some makeup on, and head out by 3... Brrrrr..... BUT... we'll be in Cabo by 11:30 AM.... and by the time we get thru customs, get our bags... get to the transportation guys... we'll be at Playa Grande by 1:30 or so. Sweet!

Don bought me something the other night..... he bought me a "Train a Dolphin" thing.... I get to spend the day next Wednesday, 5 hours of it anyway, caring for, feeding, swimming with dolphins!!! I cannot believe it.... What fun that will be! Hope to get some good pictures!

***
I had my dr. visit today - my breast surgeon. It's been a year since I've seen her. Had my mammos taken last week, and went today to see her about them, and chat about how I'm doing. No cancer! YAY. But... still gotta stay on Tamixofen for another 2 1/2 years... ugh. I complained to her that I cannot lose weight while on this drug, and she laughed and said that everyone says that... but not to worry, when I go off of the drug in 2 years, the weight will melt off. Gee thanks....

***
Dyan's baby, Miss Lilly Dyan, is growing and growing. She's getting very "rotund"... she's about 6 months along now. So far, Dyan has not gained any weight... I find that fascinating, since with both of my pregnancies, I gained 40 lbs. I don't know how Dyan's doing it.... But I do know, I cannot wait to hold that sweet baby girl in my arms. There is nothing like holding your child's child. Nothing like it in the world... I love that sweet Lilly already...

***
Meg joined a guard unit. It's an independent "world" class guard. They have practices on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. Sheesh, she will be sooooo busy! But the Winterguard season will be over in April. Apparently this guard has a girl drop out because of injury.... so Meg will take her spot. It will be so fun to see Meg in action again. She spins flags like no other.... and the rifle? She's fabulous... I just love watching her perform. She is so very good at it!

***
I'm getting sick. Yes, 3 days before heading on vacation, I have a terribly sore throat. It hurts to swallow.... I'm taking lots of Emergen-C and drinking lots of juice & taking vitamins and supplements... Ugh... who wants to be sick while on vacation?

***
Noone is going to Cabo with us this year. Honestly, that will be kinda nice. But. really, I do miss my girls when we go down there. It's fun to have them along... but this year, it will be nice, just Don & me. He's gonna do surf fishing, deep sea fishing, lots of walking, zip lining... I'll be laying by the pool alot, reading alot, swimming with the dolphins, and probably zip lining. Can't wait..

***
My husband is the BEST husband in the entire world. Yes, Julie, he is!!! He just walked in with new luggage for me!!! Its so beautiful! All girly looking.... fancy schmancy!!! Ohhhhhhhhhhh, I love him! Dolphins AND new fancy luggage! I'm so stinkin' spoiled....

***
That's it for now... I want to go look over my new luggage. So, ta ta for now...

an Untitled Update

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a while... suppose I should update.

Julie, love the pictures from Chloe's birthday! That cake is simply AWESOME!!! Your talent knows no boundaries.... Your children are so lucky to have YOU as their mommy....

***

Dyan & I were just talking about being pregnant..... she seems to always have some sort of complaint or other... and I just pointed out to her that I wish she could be happy & enjoy her pregnancy. I think I struck a nerve... LOL It's good that she's close enough to me to be able to tell me anything, and I love that. I just remember when I was pregnant, that I truly enjoyed every minute of it because we were told that we wouldn't be able to conceive naturally. Well, when God proved the drs. wrong, I was so happy, and loved and cherished every moment of both of my pregnancies... I just was trying to tell Dyan that I wish that she could feel the same way, but she pointed out to me that our situations are different. She's right... But still, I want her to really enjoy this experience. I do think I struck a nerve, tho.... sorry, Honey. Sometimes moms just have to learn to keep their mouths shut. I'm not very good at that. :-O

***
Cymbalta has been working well for me, so far. It's a new med that the dr. put me on before Christmas, when I just couldn't get out of my funk. I'm better. I think it also helps that Christmas is not looming... Right now, my days are my own... and I love that. No pressure to do anything.

***
Okay, so there's drama at church again. Ugh.... but, I believe that the decisions that Pastor Brad made are the right ones for our church. I just feel bad for the people that have been let go. But, it was necessary. I support our pastor and the church board on this decision. People will be okay. The Lord will point them in a new direction for work. When you think of my church, pray for my church. I am excited to hear what Pastor Brad has to say regarding his vision for our church on Sunday night...

***

KCC started back up this week. Dyan & Meg switched positions. I think that this is a good fit. Dyan loved teaching the little ones, and Meg filled in like a pro in Choir 3, organizing music for this semester, helping out with rehearsal... I love that both of my girls are involved in this ministry. I'm very lucky. I'm a lucky mom.

***
It's snowing right now, and its beautiful outside. I just talked to Christian on the phone, and he's excited to get his snow clothes on and go outside and play. He says, "Hiiiiiiiiiii Grammy Grandma!" That's what he calls me..... LOL

***
I switched my coffee maker from the Tassimo back to my Krups latte' maker. It's cheaper to use, and makes a cup of coffee as good as I can get at Starbuck's. Speaking of, I think it's about time for latte #2.

***
Today's plan: Get another cup of coffee, get myself cleaned up & makeup & hair done, and straighten up each room in my house the flylady way, and then clean. I ought to go to the grocery store, but eh.... it's cold outside. Right now the fire is going to help warm up the house, and Cali is laying on her bed in front of the fire, which she loves doing. She loves being warm.

***
The girls took me to see Twilight last weekend. It was, eh....... okay. I'm still not interested in reading the books. I dunno..... the girls love them. I guess I'm just too old to get caught up in those books. Didn't care for the Harry Potter stuff either.

***
The media is all GAGA over Obama..... I just don't get it. They're touting him as the first black president.... he's not ALL black / he's half white. And the ideas he has for our country are totally scary to me.... I have to keep praying for our country, and trust that God will be in control.... I'm so sick of the media being so enamored of him.... its like this morning, on The Today Show, they were all saying how excited they are to be going to Washington DC to see the inauguration and they're talking about the parade & balls.... Did they talk this way when George W. was inaugurated??? Heck no.... It's sick. I'll watch it on Tuesday, only I'll be watching Fox News, the only network that will give a fair & balanced approach....

***
I have a few "free" weeks.... well, actually, I'm working on KCC alot, getting ready to launch our spring musical ~ "Camp Wallaballa". Lots to do to get that ready to kick off... And we leave for Cabo in a few weeks. I can't wait to go. I desperately need some sunshine & warm weather, but then, who doesn't??? Don & I are going alone this year..... and that will be nice. We'll have the condo all to ourselves, and not be responsible for anyone else. Is that selfish? Probably.... but we need a break and we need to just relax and think about ourselves. It's okay.

***
Time to get busy.

And that's my life so far...

Mexican Riviera New Year's Cruise 2009

Here's some salsas we made in Mazatlan, and a Spanish speaking parrot in Puerto Vallarta...

Making salsas & guacamole in Mazatlan. Yum!!!

In Cabo... Lorene & me at "The Office". We were also having cold drinks at Una Mas in Cabo.

Our ship ~ The Vision of the Seas on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines...

The large gingerbread village on the ship.

My friend, Dianne & me in Long Beach. And Don & his best friend, Tim...











Zip Lining pictures from Puerto Vallarta...

Yup, it's been a long time since an update.... so yes, I thought it was about time to get busy. I spent the afternoon uploading pictures from our cruise for my facebook page.... so thought I'd go ahead and update here too.

December: Christmas. Came quickly, and went quickly. We spent Christmas Eve at my house with a big party, and then Christmas morning, we went to Meg & Drew's house. Her home was beautifully decorated, and we had a wonderful time. I helped her cook the dinner, and it turned out wonderful. She had, I think, 15 people over... and it was a fun day.

The next day, Don & I packed... ready to go on our cruise vacation to Mexico. We got everything done, and got to the airport several hours before our flight. Good thing, because of all the flights that American Airline was flying to Dallas that day, OURS was the ONLY ONE that was cancelled. I couldn't believe it. They gave us an 800 number to call, and the person on that line said that American couldn't get us to LA until Monday. Don was about to go ballistic. They said that they couldn't get us on any other flights that day.... but if we could get OURSELVES to Dallas, they could fly us out tomorrow... No way!!! Sooooo, I sent Don down to the Frontier counter, while I got on his cell & called Southwest. I told the gal, "Please, you don't understand, we HAVE to get to LA TODAY".... and she found a flight for us, direct from KC to LA, and that we could also go standby for earlier flights, which is what we did. So, we had several hours to kill at KC, but we did make it onto the early flight on Southwest. It was great.... only it cost us an extra $800.... oy.... I'm heading to my travel agent tomorrow to try and get our other tickets refunded. Anywayyyyyyyy, we made it to LA in good time... a 3 hour flight. Not bad. Once we got there, we hopped on the Super Shuttle to take us to the hotel in Long Beach. What should have been a 20 minute ride turned into TWO HOURS... We had 3 other old ladies to drop off first..., so we got the royal tour of San Pedro. Anyway, we finally made it to the hotel, which was lovely.... and had a nice dinner with our good friends from LA, Tim & Dianne... We walked around on the pier in Long Beach.. had a lovely time.

Sunday we boarded the ship... sailed a week to Mexico & back. We had a wonderful time... New Year's Eve was especially fun. Don & I got all gussied up, me in black sequins, he in his tux, and we danced the night away in the Centrum area, while drinking champagne, and watching 2009 balloons drop from the top of the centrum... The band was playing 70's music, ya know, DISCO, and then Big Band music....it was so much fun.... I got all sweaty, tho.... LOLOL

We cruised with our good friends, Jerry & Lorene. They have twins who are the same age as Dyan. They grew up together until early elementary years, when we moved away. We have maintained our friendship over the years... and had fun cruising with them this last week!

In Cabo, we went to the Glass Factory... tried to eat lunch at The Office, but it was too crowded since it was New Year's Eve.... So Don & I grabbed a water taxi and went back to the boat. Got some good sun that day.

In Mazatlan, we did the Salsa / Salsa / Margarita thing. It was lots of fun.. We learned to make 5 different kinds of salsa, guacamole, and 2 different margaritas (which were not that great). Then we learned how to dance the salsa. It was lots of fun. After that, we took a taxi to the old part of town, toured through the cathedral and "free" market. It makes me so grateful for what we have here in the states for shopping. Their market.... all the meat was just sitting out, same with fruits and vegetables. They had LOTS of PIG HEADS.... a traditional food for New Years. I couldn't believe my eyes...

In Puerto Vallarta, we zip lined. I thought I would be afraid, since I'm terrified of heights, but I made my mind up that I was NOT going to be scared. After an hour long ride in the back of a truck, we made it to the mountains and the jungle. We got all strapped up, and they showed us how to do it, and then off we went! First time for me, he said just sit back & lift up your legs.... and so I did it and away I went.... talk about FUN!!!! I could't wait to do it the rest of the afternoon! First landing was rough though... I ran smack dab into the tree trunk... bruised up my hip. I wasn't "breaking" hard enough. I fixed that next time around. I went before Don, so that way I could stand on the perch and watch him. Totally fun. I have lots of pics on my FB site if you want to see them.

The last 2 days at sea were very cloudy and a little choppy.... so we basically sat around and read / slept / read / slept / played dominoes / read / slept... Very relaxing.

We did enjoy our cruise and especially our time with Jerry & Lorene. However, I won't take another Mexican Riviera cruise again. I prefer to stay with the Bahamas or Caribbean... much warmer and way more sun. The Pacific was just too cold...

Now I'm back to the daily grind... well, actually, this week, I've hardly done anything except unpack & do laundry and clean up a bit. Don's been so sick, and I've been loading him up with medications and herbal stuff... He caught my sinus infection and it got really bad for him and has gone into his chest. He's now taking some coconut capsules from the pure extract, along with several other herbal stuff & nyquil... LOL He doesn't feel like he has pneumonia, but I bet he has bronchitis... I'm giving him some antibiotics that I found yesterday. I know, not great, but hey.... ya do whatcha gotta do. I worry about him, ya know,..

Okay, gonna upload some pics and call it a day. I'll try and not wait so long to blog again, Julie..... I've missed you too!

Happy New Year, everyone! May God richly bless each one of you this year!