Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Spring

Everywhere I look around my yard, I see signs of spring.  My weeping willows have tiny green leaves, my flowering peach tree is blooming, my magnolia bushes are beginning to bloom and there are shoots from planted bulbs popping through the ground.  I love it.  Give me some color other than gray, brown and dead looking outside and my heart immediately feels happy no matter what's going on in life. Although I'm sick and can't get outside to piddle, just knowing spring is trying to make its entrance even if it is February, gives me something new to think about.  Something happy.  (I'm sitting here in the chair with the TV off, gazing out the window.)  The wind is blowing and I opened the patio door so I can hear the wind chimes.  Love them.

I finished reading my book, The Help, last night.  It was a wonderful book.  My friend, Tammy, has the movie and offered to let me borrow it.  I plan to do just that.  I love to read a good book.  It's kind of sad though when the last page has been read.  I don't want the story to end. 

It's time to make myself get busy whether I feel like it or not.  I must get some things done today.  My Andrew will be here tomorrow night. 

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Of Course...More Rambling.

I think it was last October when I decided it was time to clean out closets, declutter, and have a yard sale. I can't recall if that decision was made prior to finding out my son would be getting married November 5th of  last year or not.  Regardless,  I cleaned out closets, declutterd and ended up with several plastic storage containers of things I no longer wanted to store.  These would go in the yard sale. 

With the wedding, Thanksgiving and then Christmas, I knew the yard sale would have to wait until spring.  Surely by then things would have calmed down a bit, the weather would be nicer and I might even re-declutter and have more things to sell.  Yeah right.

Since I put those things in the containers to sell, I've reclaimed:

Some saucers and plates purchased from an antique store that used to hang on my walls.  (I want to rehang them.)
My RB sunglasses (I got contacts so I can wear them again.)
A candle holder (I really did like it on top of my china cabinet.)

I thinks that's all I dragged back to use again.  Is that funny or what?  I guess some of the things I thought of as clutter when I went on my "spree" weren't actually clutter because I really did like them and after not having them where I could see them for awhile, I realized I missed them so back in the house they came.  Well, the sunglasses don't fall into that category, but I NEED them since I no longer wear glasses having lens that darken when out in the sun. 

Hopefully I'll be having that yard sale the first weekend of April if I can stop bringing the stuff back in.

How often do we decide we need to declutter our lives?  Not houses and things, but lives.  Do we let go of friends we think we don't need any longer only to find out later that we really did need them afterall?  Do we turn off the TV, the computers, the cell phones only to suffer withdrawals?  I've found that I get sick and tired of noise.  Hubby goes out to his office to work and many days, I cut the TV off just so I can have quiet.  It helps me declutter my life because then I can focus on whatever I'm doing or what I need to do.  Or, I can just let my brain rest and declutter.  Sometimes the noise of a TV or radio just drive me bonkers.  Turning it off and just sitting in my chair gazing outside allows me to think clearly about something, to daydream, have an idea, and clear out the cobwebs in my head.

Speaking of cobwebs,  it's amazing how many I've been able to see with the new contacts.  Have mercy.  I saw one this past weekend and yanked my curtains down, washed them, got the cobwebs down and that's where it ended.  I got sick and haven't felt like putting them back up.  I also noticed that my windows need to be cleaned.  No point in putting the curtains up until that is done.  Oh and the walls are dusty too.  Gotta get them clean too and since I'm gonna paint, it would have to be done anyway.  And, it's time to clean the lampshades again.   I'll put all that on a list of things I have to do.  For now, I'm gonna sit in my chair and gaze out the window for a few minutes.  Then, I'm going to go crawl back into bed and read some more of The Help.  No TV will be blaring either.   I'll deal with the stuff to do tomorrow, or maybe the next day.  Today, I'm gonna enjoy my book and quietness.  My body won't let me do otherwise, so I won't feel guilty!

Hope you find time to enjoy some quiet time and allow your brain to rest!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Rambling Monday Morning

The crud chose me as its next victim and it slapped me in the face yesterday.  The coughing drives me crazy.  I decided to take some 'quill before I went to bed.  It helped the cough, but the sleeping was miserable.  I dozed, woke up, dreamed crazy dreams and feel like I worked all night.  I woke up at 5am and decided to get up and make coffee, let the dogs out watch the morning news. 

February 19th marked two years since my sweet MIL passed away.  I still have her chest of drawers and dresser in what is now my grandson's bedroom and her collection of photos have been stored in one of those drawers.  Since Andrew is almost three, I decided it was time to get those photos out of there, so Saturday while "he was helping me clean his room" I put all the photos in a plastic tub so I could put them in albums and/or photo boxes.  Some I will scan and send to a cousin so he can put them in the Granville, TN Museum.  He'd asked for some after Mom died and I've just never gotten around to getting them scanned. 

While Mom was living with us and had nothing to do other than sit or lie down, I asked her to go through her photos and write the names of the subject on the back.  I'm so glad she did that.  My boys probably won't have a clue as to who some of them are, but maybe down the road someone will do a family tree and find the boys who may be able to look through the photos and provide some info that's needed.  

Rambling along..I'm having fun waiting for Hubby and my son to notice something different about me.  I've worn glasses for years.  This past Wednesday I went to see my eye doctor due to a problem with my eyelid.  I had not scheduled an appointment and didn't tell family I was going.  While there, doc checked my eyes and said they had gotten worse in the past year.  (I never got the prescription filled last year.)   I knew I had to get new ones because I was having a hard time seeing with the old ones, even though they were bifocals.   I decided to get contacts.  Yes.  So, since Wednesday, I have not worn my glasses at all and guess what!!!  The ONLY person who has noticed is my 2 year old grandson.  He said, "Nana put your glasses on."  Hubby was in the room, but had us tuned out while watching TV.  I'm going to see just how long it takes for Hubby to notice.  I think it's hilarious that it's been nearly a week and he hasn't realized I'm not wearing glasses.  It doesn't hurt my feelings at all, although when I was younger, I would have probably gotten upset that he didn't notice.  It's funny how things change as one gets older.  I think in my case, Hubby's lucky that I've changed in that respect.  HA

That's enough rambling for now.  This coffee is good and I'm going to go have another cup.

Merry Monday, y'all.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

A Winner...

Cathy B. is the winner of my cookbook giveway.  She gets to choose 3 of the 6 cookbooks I showed.  Congrats, Cathy and I hope you enjoy them.

Stay tuned!  You never know when I'll have another giveaway!!!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Saturday Sunshine

Thank you, Jesus!  The sun is shining brightly even though it's rather chilly outside.  Andrew is here and he brings even more sunshine to my life.    Last night, he got quiet while in the kitchen.  I went to check on him and he had decided to feed the dogs.  As you can see above, some of it didn't make it into the doggie bowl.    It's not scattered just in the area you see, it was scattered all over the kitchen floor.  LOL

We have nothing planned for the weekend.  Dale is in a 12 hour class today.  Jon and Brenda plan to come over today and Greg will be playing with Andrew.   There's always something to pick up or clean up around here, so I'll be doing that.

Hope you all have a great weekend.  I'm going to enjoy my family.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

We Are Losing Our Freedom

The text below was forwarded to me today.  Somehow, someway, we have to stop sitting idly by and letting this type thing happen.
 
Ft. Bragg connection!!
 
Obama stops soldier from speaking
Something you'll want to be aware of: Obama stops soldier from speaking ..Sent by Retired Vice Admiral Bob Scarborough, of Arlington , Va. "I wanted to give you all some disturbing information on our wonderful president. I work with the Catch-A-Dream Foundation, which provides hunting and fishing trips to children with life-threatening illnesses.
 
This past weekend we had our annual banquet/fundraiser event in Starkville . As a part of our program, we had scheduled Sgt. 1st Class Greg Stube to come; he's a highly decorated U.S. Army Green Beret and inspirational speaker who was severely injured while deployed overseas and didn't have much of a chance for survival. Greg is stationed at Ft. Bragg , NC and received permission from his commanding officer to come speak at our function.
 
Everything was on go until Obama made a policy that NO U.S. SERVICEMAN CAN SPEAK AT ANY FAITH-BASED PUBLIC EVENTS ANYMORE. Needless to say, Greg had to cancel his speaking event with us. Didn't know if anyone else was aware of this new policy. You're just starting to see the Obamanation. This is just how the Nazis did it in the 1930s -- slowly, one step at a time.
 
This should be forwarded to everyone regardless of party affiliation! We have lost 50% of our freedom of speech in the last 2 years. The news media is not allowed to print anything negative about this evil Obama.
ARE YOU STILL GOING TO REELECT HIM???????????
--
Robert D. Sinacola
COL (Ret), AVN, USAR

Gotta Post This or Explode...

The United States Constitution was written and guaranteed everyone their rights as citizens of this country.   Our founding fathers had the guts to base these laws on Christian principals so obviously they had common sense, a relationship with God and read The Bible.  Thank God they did.

I am so sick, tired, disgusted, angry and downright fed up with all the different groups of people who keep demanding equal rights.  The idiots already have equal rights.  They have the same rights afforded everyone by The Constitution. 

Want to know why the world is in the mess it is today?  Look at the laws of today that are directly opposite of what The Constitution says and you will see why.   Thousands of years ago, The Bible foretold of how this world would be and what do you know!  It was right and things foretold have happened and continue to happen.  They will keep happening until The Bible is fulfilled.

Our founding fathers would roll over in their graves if they knew how evil our world is today and all the things that have been passed into law.

I can't convince anyone of anything and I know that all too well.  Just because my opinion differs from what some believe doesn't mean I don't love them.  It doesn't mean I agree with things they do either.  I answer to God for what I do and what I believe.  That's what matters.  I don't judge people either.  That right belongs to God.  People who judge others have no idea what others may be going through, have been through and obviously don't care.

Enough about that.

I have to take Hubby to neurologist shortly so I will shut up  for now.  

Don't know where this came from...

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Decisions

It's nothing major by any means, but I finally decided what to do with this blog.  Let's face it.  I'm not going to make money with a blog; I'm not a writer.  I re-read my previous posts and realized that I don't know anything to blog about except what's going on in my life and occasionally an opinion I have about something.  Now why was that so hard to figure out?  Because by reading other blogs, I thought maybe no one would read mine.  I have nothing profound to say.  It's more of a journal for me and it doesn't matter if no one reads it.    Sure, it would be nice to have a "following".  In fact, I had hoped to make some new friends here, but if that doesn't happen it's okay.

I think from time to time I will have a giveaway, but I'm not going to drive myself bonkers trying to get followers who only come here for giveaways.  I'd rather people read because they relate to what I may write about.  I'm not eloquent with words, I'm just a simple, down-to-earth person.  I suffer from depression and other ailments and when I'm feeling depressed, hurting or whatever, that's what I will write.  By making this decision, I feel a sort of freedom.  It's because I've never worried about impressing anyone and there's no reason to start now!

Moving on...Hubby has a doctor's appointment shortly for another checkup on the broken arm.  It's healing, but there's a problem with nerve damage which affects his thumb, index and middle finger.  The hand still swells and he still has pain.  The surgeon has referred him to a neurologist to find out what's up with the nerves.  He has an appointment tomorrow for that.  I'm praying no more surgery is necessary.  We have no health insurance and another surgery would just pile on even more medical bills that we don't need.  However, if surgery is necessary, surgery it will be.

Update on the doggie peeing situation:  Giz' diapers have done the trick for him.  The culprit now is Tiffi, so I put her in diapers too.  Being the little prissy dog she is, she's figured out how to wiggle out of her diaper and twice I've caught her going into my dining room to pee.  She'll require a large doggie diaper for her fat little rear.  Just when I'm thinking my grandson will stop wearing diapers and I'll get rid of that expense, I'm having to spend money on doggie diapers.  Go figure.

I have to get dressed now.  If story weather is expected in your area, stay safe and make sure your weather radio has fresh batteries!  If you're going through stormy weather in your personal life, find solace in prayers and The Bible.

Happy Wednesday.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

RIP Buddy

I didn't blog yesterday because I didn't want to post a sad one while others were celebrating Valentine's Day.  I spent some of the day in tears because late Monday night, our beloved black lab died.  He was on my kitchen floor.  He died happy, though, because he was inside knowing that those who loved him were nearby.  He refused to stop fighting death until we left the room.  The only comfort I feel right now is knowing that he is not in pain or frustrated because his back legs collapsed again and he couldn't get up. 

Hubby couldn't bury Buddy because his right arm/hand has no strenth; sometimes not enough to pick up a cup of coffee.  I couldn't do it because I physically was not strong enough to undertake digging a grave for him and the fibromyalgia is nearly unbearable right now.  So, my son Greg and a friend of his took care of making Buddy's final resting place and putting him there.  I will mark the site with one of my big rocks and a tree that blooms when I'm better.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have a blonde lab also.  Murphy was Buddy's constant companion.  You never saw one without the other very often.  Murphy is sad too.  She keeps looking for Buddy.  We can't get used to the fact that he's not here either.  Needless to say, Murphy is getting lots of love and attention.  We want to make her grieving process as comfortable as we can.   Somehow that helps us with our grief as well.  

Hubby thinks we should get another companion for Murphy.  I don't know what to do about that.  Would you get another one?  I know Buddy can never be replaced and I have mixed emotions about it.

That's it for now.  I'm going to go grab another cup of coffee and try to get something accomplished today because I certainly didn't yesterday. 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day

The older I get, the less important it is to me to make a big deal out of Valentine's Day.  My valentines are just that every day of the year.  Hubby and I decided a few years ago that it was not necessary to go buy cards, candy, flowers or whatever just because February 14th rolled around.   It doesn't mean we don't love each other, it just means we don't need to buy something to prove it.  Personally, I'd rather have a surprise happen on just an ordinary day. 

As a friend of mine posted on FB, there are Valentines other than significant others - my boys, my grandson, my parents, my siblings, other relatives and dear friends.  If I sent valentines to all of them, stamps alone would cost a fortune.  Yes, they're worth it, but I can't afford to do it.  Enough said.

So if you happen to read this, Happy Valentine's Day.  I mean it just as much as if I'd sent a card, candy, flowers or balloons!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Raw Feelings - Whitney Houston

The death of Whitney Houston has shocked and saddened me.  I have cried.  I have watched clips of her on TV since the announcement was made and I feel a loss.  Why?  Because I honestly believe she had the most beautiful, purest voice I've ever heard.  No matter where I may have been when I heard her singing, her voice made my ears pay attention.  If she had a gospel CD I'm not aware of it, but I plan to find out later if she did.  If so, I will be buying it.  Who knows the cause of death?  It's really none of our business if you stop and really think about it.  Why do we feel the need to know?  Maybe it's because we hope she died a peaceful, natural death, that it was just her time to go.  I pray that's the reason she passed away.

The media has so quickly, as usual, jumped on the bandwagon to point out her past problems with drugs and alcohol.  Why can't they just leave that alone?  If not out of respect for Whitney, then out of respect for her daughter, her mother and the rest of the family, they should keep their long noses out of personal matters.  

A lot of people deal with all kinds of addictions.  Maybe that's why this has broken my heart.  Until someone you love has personally been addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, you don't really "get" how it affects the ones you love.  If that person dies, it just makes it worse for the family, regardless of whether or not they were clean and sober when they died.    Don't judge people because of their past.  In fact, don't judge people at all.  Jesus Christ is the ONLY one authorized to judge anyone and that fact is made clear in The Bible.   I pray that she was prepared spiritually to die.  That's all anyone should care about.  When our time to go comes, nothing will matter other than our spiritual health. 

I do not actually know a lot of people in Tennessee.  The ones I know are family and people I used to work with or knew of because of working.  Every day, I check the obituaries in the paper to see if I recognize the names of anyone I may have known.  Most of the time, I don't, but I silently say a prayer for the families of those who passed.  It may seem strange to some, but ever since I lost my sweet Mother-in-Law, I've done that.  She will have been gone two years later this month.  There was no media blitz, no question as to how she died and no speculation as to whether or not she was drunk or on drugs when she died.  That's the way it should be for anyone, unless they or their families request otherwise.

When I go, I will be cremated and there will be no memorial service.  The only thing I want is for the 23rd Psalm to be read before my ashes are scattered at the place I choose.  That may seem strange, but that's what I want.  If there was a song it would be I Will Always Love You and it would be playing on a CD player.   Whitney Houston would be singing it.

RIP, Whitney.  May God be with your daughter and your family.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Cookbook Giveaway!

  Welcome to my very first giveaway! 

Buddy, My Black Lab

My posts lately seem to be about my pets.   We have two labs who normally stay outside, but when it's cold, they come inside.  One is a female blonde lab named Murphy.  The other is Buddy, a male black lab.  Both of them have been full of energy, loved us to death and if we so much as drove down the road for 10 minutes they'd greet us as though we'd been gone for months.

Wednesday night, I called Buddy inside and it took several times before he came around to the back of the house.  He was walking very slowly and acting rather strange.  He got inside and immediately I noticed he was wobbling and nout the normal Buddy.  He had no energy, and finally, his back legs collapsed.  He wouldn't get up off the floor and just looked at us with his sad eyes as though he was begging us to do something.  We thought perhaps he'd been poisoned somehow but decided to wait and see if he got better.  (Buddy is rather old.)  He fell several times when trying to get up off the floor.

He appeared to get some better, but was still moving slowly and had a hard time walking.  Last night, he got up and his back legs collapsed again and literally did the splits.  I decided to look online to see if I could find a diagnosis that might tell us what was wrong.  It appears he has arthritis in his hips.  One suggestion was to fix a place for him to sleep that was soft instead of a rug on a tiled or wood floor.  I got my sleeping bag out, folded it and he was able to finally get to it and lie down.   Shortly after, he needed to go outside so he managed to get up, walk over to my chair and that's when his legs collapsed again.  I managed to help him get outside and do his business.  Once we got back inside, he immediately laid down and wouldn't get up.

We don't know what to do.  We do not want Buddy in pain and certainly cannot afford a vet bill.    What in the world do we do about Buddy?  All he does is lay on the floor and sleep when he can, so I know he is in pain.

Has anyone experienced this with their pet?  HELP.  The thought of losing Buddy just kills us and I've laid on the floor with him and cried, not knowing how to help.  I don't want my sweet Buddy's life to be miserable.  We'd all be lost without him as would Murphy.  They have always been together.  My two shih tzus even love Buddy and Murphy.

If you have any insight, please share with me.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Blogging - Ideas and Wondering What To Do With My Blog


How was your day?  Mine was rather busy doing laundry and cleaning.  Changed the bed linens today and I love crawling into freshly washed sheets after I have shaved my legs.  It's a simple pleasure of mine.  Do other women like that too?  Maybe I'm just weird in that respect.

I'm still trying to figure out what direction I want to take this blog.  There are opportunities in blogging and I'd like to explore them.  I'm just a normal, simple person.  There are blogs with giveaways to increase traffic to the sites and I'm considering that.  Eventually, I would like to make a little money with the blog but I'm not quite sure how to do it.

I'm trying to find a group on Facebook that I can connect with.  I want it to be interesting and something I can promote that people will actually look forward to reading; people I don't personally know.  Do you seasoned bloggers have suggestions?  I'd love to have your comments.

I'd love to have an online boutique of unique things.  That would require having suppliers, going to markets and reaching an audience that would shop there.  I have no clue how to approach this.  I've been researching so we'll see what happens.  If I had a boutique, I would want to have prices that wouldn't be out of range for the majority of people.   Just thinking out "loud".

Feel free to email suggestions to me.  The email address to use is:  bloggingnana@gmail.com or just post ideas or suggestions in the comment section.

For now, I'm ready to crawl into bed.  My eyes just want to close and I need sleep.

Sweet dreams and...

Be safe~!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Hair Color

In years past I had my hair professionally colored/highlighted and loved the results.   It got so expensive, I started using hair color products from Sally's or the drug store.  Well, the "do it yourself colors"  do NOT get rid of all the gray.  It may appear to be gone for a day or two, but after one shampoo, there they are, glistening brightly as usual.  I'm about fed up with it and am tempted to just let it all go gray.  If there's a particular brand that you know really works, please enlighten me (no pun intended).

I'm going to call it a day and go to bed.  Sweet dreams.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Just Rambling Again

First of all, I'm happy the Giants won the super bowl.  I was born and raised in Mississippi, Eli Manning went to Ole Miss and that's all that was necessary to get me pulling for the Giants!  Hubby and I watched the game.  This is only the second or third time that we've watched the super bowl without one or both of our sons here.  It still feels strange, but after having Andrew since Thursday it was rather quiet until late in the fourth quarter and by then we were both yelling and clapping. 

Speaking of Andrew...he was such a sweetheart this weekend.  He's always a sweetheart but from time to time, he has his little contrary moments. Ha ha  I must say that by the time his mom came to get him, I was worn out.  

I love my dogs, Giz and Tiff.  Giz has gotten old and appears to have lost bladder control.  It is driving me nuts.  I don't know what to do about it.  I may have to resort to doggie diapers because I have reached the breaking point with having to clean up after him.  Tiff was sick this weekend and pooped several times inside.  I'm glad it was on the laminate floors instead of carpet.  However, they are ruining my floors and that's making me angry.  I make sure they go outside at least once per hour.    Maybe I'll just get a big dog cage and keep them in it.  Most of the time they are just sleeping anyway.  I just never liked the idea of them being caged up, but they cannot keep ruining my floors and I'm sick and tired of having to clean up after them.

It's time to have my nails filled in and my eyebrows need to be waxed.  Maybe I can do that tomorrow. I think doing a little something for myself might be good.   My hair hasn't been cut in over a year other than one time when my DIL trimmed the ends slightly.  It needs to be trimmed and colored, but that will wait.

I could ramble more, but I'm tired so I think I'll go to bed instead.

Be safe~!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Today Is Better!


My sweet sister, Ruth, sent me a CD to listen to by someone who spoke in their church.  It was titled, The Dip.  After listening to the CD, I immediately felt better on the inside.    God knows what we need to hear and when we need to hear it.  I cannot count the number of times He has used my sister to make sure I heard what He needed me to hear.

As a side note to my previous post about Friends/Mental Illness yesterday,  I do not think I would be alive today had it not been for my belief in God and knowing that He's there for me, even when I don't go to Him when I should.  He is faithful when I'm not and that's a majority of the time, I guess.  

I don't know how people who don't believe in God survive in this world without going absolutely insane.  I really don't.  I don't cram it down their throats, but everyone that I personally know, knows that I grew up in a Christian home and that I believe in God, Heaven and Hell and my prayer is that I make it to Heaven.

I make mistakes every day.  I don't live like I know I should.  I find comfort though, knowing that God knows and hears my prayers.  It's up to me to do better and I know that.  Maybe that's part of my depression and feeling lonely.  I'll have to do something about that myself and no one can help me.

In summary, I'm thankful that my sister loves me enough to send me CDs of things she knows I need to hear.  She's a blessing to me in so many ways every single day.  I love you, Ruth.