TRIP TO UKRAINE (PART 2)

I really should have posted this on the 8th, but as you saw, I was having a pet peeve day so I'm a little behind (sure wish I had one).

(Sorry the map's too tiny, but if you can see the red circle on the right hand side of Ukraine, that's Stakhanov where we stayed. It's 40 miles from the Russian border. Top middle is Kiev where we flew into. North of Kiev is Chernobyl where they had the nuclear disaster in 1986.)

So, October 8, 2007, came. Rose loaned me this HUGE duffle bag because my suitcases just wouldn't do according to her. She had so much to pack that she needed me to cram a bunch of her crap in my bag. Ya know, we only had a 50 lb. limit per bag & OMG (gosh), I'm REALLY glad the duffle bag had wheels! You wouldn't believe the stuff she packed! (I later came to appreciate those things, but at the time, she was teased unmercifully & not just by me--her whole family thought she was a nerd.) Seriously, who takes duct tape on a trip? She also took Febreeze to keep our clothes fresh, and a VERY LARGE can of Lysol. The Lysol joke goes back several years when both of our families went camping together, she took her little girls out in the forest to go potty, & took the Lysol with her. What was she going to spray? The spot where they would be squatting? Seriously..So, she had told me this would be a two week trip at the most, her husband told me to count on "possibly" (I think that's a misleading word) 3. I brought medicine for 4, just to be safe. We got to the airport in way plenty of time, like 3 hours, so we had a really good, long dinner at Chili's and then went to the airport drug store because she finally convinced me that I need air sickness/dizzy pills. I have NEVER been air sick in any of my travels, even the other time I had flown to London. Oh well, it's her trip so I agree to take the pills. I'm glad I did because by the time we got to London, I was pretty dizzy when we got off the plane. Speaking of the plane, I had never flown on a 747 & was excited because I wanted to see all the "special" stuff, like the upstairs bar/lounge thingie. But, did you know that they don't let you up there unless you pay massive amounts of $$$ for first class? That's not nice--I just wanted to see, you'd think they would make a special exception for someone like me who's never been on a 747 before. Hmmm...What a bummer! Oh well...we sat in the very front (bulkhead) of whatever our class is called--coach?? At first I was a little disappointed because I wanted to be by the window, but they ended up being great seats because we had lots of leg room. Only problem was that the people behind us kept getting up (either they had taken water pills & had to "p" every 5 minutes or they just liked getting up & walking around) & instead of climbing over the guy on the end of their row, there was enough room for them to come all the way around & in front of us to get out & kept stepping on our feet while we were sleeping. Oh well, the hazards of flying, AND I was still so excited about the trip, I was nice enough to forgive them. We used those little eye covers so it would be a little darker & help us sleep. So when I woke up after, Rose started laughing because my eyelashes were all smooshed together & I had black under my eyes. I still think the pilot must have been speeding or something 'cuz we got to London faster than I remember it took the first time I went. Do they give speeding tickets for fast flyers?

When we got to London, we took one of the funny looking cabs to the Heathrow Sheraton where we stayed over night. According to the cabbie, petrol (gas) in London is approximately $8 American, so I guess we DO have it a bit better here. Nothing much exciting happened in London. We didn't have time to explore, so we stayed at the hotel, had dinner, & e-mailed people to let them know we got there safely--like they were worried or something. We DID hear "activity" from the room next to us & I really mean "activity." This should have been a clue of things to come.

The next morning we got ready, I used the wrong electrical converter & burned up my hair blower & fire even came out (cool!)--so yay! now what? (bought a new one in Ukraine)--then after breakfast, off to the airport we went. The flight to Ukraine was only about 2 1/2 hours, we took a "regular" plane, flew over countries like Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, & Poland, so can I say I've been to those countries, or do I have to put my foot on the ground? I think I know the answer to that. (I have been to Netherlands & Germany but not the other 2.) Once we got to Kiev, we of course went through Customs. Here's a picture of the Passport Control sign in Russian & English (one of the VERY few signs that had English in ALL of Ukraine).
And here's a picture of the little Kiev airport:
One of the adoption coordinators named Yura picked us up & carried all of our luggage. He was a nice guy. He took us to the train station. On the way, we "experienced" the wonderful driving skills of people who don't seem to care if they die today or tomorrow. OMG (gosh)! Even for a crazy driver like me, I really had to take a deep breath. They normally don't have seat belts in their cars & if they do, you'd better not wear one or they'll think you're crazy & treat you like it too. So, when in Rome (er, when in Ukraine), do what they do. We had a while to kill so he took us to a market to get some food for the train trip & convert some money to Hrivna (pronounced "grievna"). Approximately 5 Hrivna=$1. They also use Russian money, like Kopecks (I know what you're thinking--shame!) which aren't worth anything. Anyway, so at the market, we bought a bunch of stuff that looked similar to American food (not ready for the "real" stuff yet), including Coke & Coke Lite (Diet Coke), and this awesome cheese that tasted like Smoked Gouda. Here's it's pretty expensive. There, we paid 7.91 hrivna (or about $1.50) for a pound!

Once we got all that done, Yura took us to the train station:

Of course, after our plane ride, we REALLY needed to use the potty:We paid about 75 cents to squat over a hole in the floor! You pay this old lady in a booth as you go in, AND definitely don't forget to tear off a little bit (that's all you get is a little bit) of toilet paper at the entrance that is basically a roll of crepe paper, then go in your little stall & squat away! Hope it all goes where you want it to & heaven forbid if you have to go #2! (We had taken these really nice pens from the Sheraton in London & Rose had one in this thing hanging from her neck, along with her passport. Well, the pen plopped down in the hole. Then, she she had the nerve to think I should give her mine! Oh no...uh uh.)

Next installment of this lovely trip, I'll tell ya about the train ride & some more fun toilets. Aren't you excited??

MY PET PEEVES

I got up really early this morning to finish off a couple of things that my OCD was hassling me about when I went to bed last night, then decided 5:30 a.m. was just WAY too early to stay up & try to go back to bed. Well, the sun was just trying to start to shine and I REALLY wanted to go back to sleep, so I tried putting my head under the covers. I couldn't breathe so I pushed down the top cover & just left the sheet over my head. Didn't work...sheet's egg shell color. Dang! Squished it around my eyes (so I could still breathe). Dang...still could see light. Crap...had to get up, go around my bed to the other side, locate the eye cover that they gave us on my flight to London to help us sleep, got back in bed, eyes covered and...Dang again! A teeny, tiny, miniscule bit of light is creeping through underneath. Covered back up with the sheet. STILL too light. Ok, now I'm thinking, even though I'm REALLY tired, let's evaluate this situation. Ok, I didn't really think that, but what the heck! I realize what's happening is that my mind's racing (1,000,000 thoughts going all at the same time). That happens a lot with me because I'm freaking bi-polar. I hate it! My therapist laughs sometimes because my mind races so much somtimes that I switch topics about 50 times in one session & I'm amazed she can keep up. Anyway, because my mind is racing & I lay there for freaking ever with no positive results, I've decided to post about some things that really bug me.

1. When we're all on the freeway at once during so called "rush hour," people who have more than one person in the car, GET IN THE CARPOOL LANE would you PLEASE!!! Or better yet, if you're old, with purple or grey hair (like MANY of our residents in the winter) DON'T EVEN THINK OF DRIVING DURING RUSH HOUR! Rush hour is for people who have to get to work, or the doctor's office, or some place important--not something stupid like breakfast where they sit for 2-3 hours shooting/cutting the breeze if you get my drift.

2. On the same topic...if you're old like many of our residents in the winter (AGAIN) would you PLEASE turn right from the right-hand lane, use your blinker, AND if you're driving slower than the speed limit (or for that matter, slower than me), GET OVER & don't swerve into another person's lane!!!

The above 2 items are my BIGGEST pet peeves. Not only do I live in a state with LOTS AND LOTS of Winter visitors ("Snowbirds), I live in East Mesa where many have decided to perch all year long, AND I stupidly moved into a freaking RETIREMENT COMMUNITY. Again, CRAP--Snowbird season is just now starting! I've already seen some flocking here. Oh, yay, here we go again! (You're probably asking yourself, "So why did she move there if she knew this would happen?" I didn't want to, I had no choice!!) Ok, now I'm getting upset. I'll never get to go back to sleep! Crap!

So, on we go. Might as well just totally ruin my morning:

3. People who call me when I'm trying to take a nap in the afternoon. Especially irritating if I have a migraine & am trying to sleep it off. Do they know I'm taking a nap? No. Does that make it any better? No. I'm still grumpy. Then if I try to go back to sleep, my eyes see the light & I have the same trouble getting back to sleep as I did this morning. AND, beware if you're a sales person who shouldn't even be calling me because all of my phone numbers are on the "Do Not Call" list. I really am a nice person till one of them calls me--watch out! I DO report their call. Just mean that way, I guess.

5. People who write "a lot" as one word (alot). When I read that, especially in a newspaper or other publication, I cringe. My whole family now knows how to write it because I DRIVE THEM CRAZY about this. Sorry family!! I know I'm nuts & so do you--LOL!

6. News people who don't take the time to figure out how to pronounce street names or city names in their reporting area. When I lived in Utah, this one news lady used to pronounce Tooele "Toolie." The town (probably city now) is pronounced "too-ill-a." The other one that bugs me is the next road over from where I live...Crismon. Can you see the "s" in front of the "m" sitting there in plain view? So pronounce it like that!! Don't say "Crimson." The street is not a freaking color! One reporter now says it correctly after I e-mailed their station with the "suggestion" to pronounce it the right way. HOWEVER, one reporter who's been here longer than I have, STILL says it wrong. I know I have to give up & let it go, but OCD remember?

I REALLY am a nice person, people. I just have some OCD going on. Really...I'm working on it.

7. Men who open the door in front of me & let it slam in my face (ok, so it slowly closes at the mall, but still...). It really bugs me when a teenage boy does it 'cuz I know their momma didn't raise 'em right. My son knows better, don't you Tyler? (He does, doesn't he Shannon? Don't make a liar out of me.)

8. When people don't return a book to the library by the due date. Don't they KNOW I'm patiently (ok, not so patiently) waiting? I only have about 200 books in boxes that I could read while I'm waiting, but I want THAT one, NOW!

Ok, I'm stopping here, even though I have more, because I realize I have EIGHT things and if I keep going, you're really going to think I'm a "Grumpy" Grandma instead of a "Goofy" Grandma. Sorry folks.

**By the way, I know you're wondering, "When is she going to post Part 2 of the trip to Ukraine?" I should have posted that today since we left exactly 1 year ago today, but seriously, I had to write this one down so I could get it off my back. Give me a couple of days, ok? I promise it will be good. Ok, it'll be good for me, not so sure about you.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT"S BEEN A YEAR! (Part 1)

So...on September 19, 2007, I got an e-mail from my friend Rose. I was staying with her 3 girls while she & her husband were in Ukraine for the last month, working on adopting a little 8-year old boy named Alex. (Their girls are teenagers & they had always wanted a boy.) Of course, while she was away, we kept in touch by e-mail & a few phone calls...talking about how their trip was going, how the girls were, on & on...This e-mail was different. She told me about the 16-hour train ride from Kiev to Stakhonov which is about 40 miles from the Russian border in southern Ukraine, seeing Alex again, then last sentence: "Just curious...do u have a current passport?" That was it. No reason for the question, just that. Hmmm...Being the curious type, of course I wondered why??? Funny thing, because of the new passport laws (even to cross from Arizona to Mexico) getting ready to start in January, I had just picked up application papers the day before to renew mine. So, of course I told her I was getting ready to send in renewal paperwork, "Why?" Within 10 minutes, I get her reply...blah, blah, blah (more trip stuff), then, "I was asking if u had a passport cuz was wondering if u were interested in an all expense paid trip 2 Ukraine." Ummm...wait a minute, gotta pick myself up off the floor, start breating again, re-screw in the screw in the bottom of my chair that came out when I fell on the floor, then continue reading. WOW!!! They had been over there for about a month & foreign adoption processes being what they are, things were going at the rapid pace of...
S L O W. Apparently, even though things were almost finalized, there's a 10-day waiting period before they can even begin the passport & visa application for Alex. Well, Rose's husband REALLY couldn't stay in Ukraine any longer...you know, bills to pay, job waiting, boring stuff like that. She didn't want to stay there alone--I wonder why?? So, they were going to come home & then she needed to go back to finish up & of course, bring Alex home, & didn't want to go alone, so would I go with her? My reply to her took a really long time (2.5 seconds to be exact). YES!!!!!! At times like this, it's wonderful to be single & kids out of the house (sorry Jodi & Tyler--you're on your own--Momma's got a life--sometimes). Again, she replies in about 5 minutes, "Ukraine a dive are u sure?" So, I took my time before replying so that I could really give this trip the thought it deserved--I didn't reply for at least 10 seconds, "YES I AM SURE!!! Don't care if it's a dive...what a GREAT experience!!!" (Can you tell I use lots of ...'s & !!!'s ?) By the way, these are direct quotes because I saved all the e-mails, of course. She shoots back another e-mail quickly (this is all taking place in the space of about 15 minutes), telling me that I need to check into getting an expedited passport & to find out the cost--she will pay all costs over & above the regular passport charges. More e-mails back & forth for the next 4 days while I check prices, airline travel dates for her, sending in the application, etc. Ok, gotta tell you, the passport cost to me: $125, additonal costs to her: $272.88 ($200 for the expedite through a VERY wonderful, helpful company http://www.urgentpassport.com/ which I would highly recommend, & another $72.88 for FedEx to ship overnight to them to handwalk through--24 hour turnaround to get the passport).

OH! Gotta change subjects for a sec...(there I go again with the ...) The life of a bi-polar, OCD, ADHD, etc. person is odd to say the least. I was watching my TiVo in the living room, got a phone call, paused TiVo, came in here to get on the computer to check something during the call, got another call while in the computer room, then started doing this post. 1 1/2 hours later, I stopped for a sec to go feed the cats & LOL!! the TiVo's STILL paused. ADHD strikes again.

Anyway, back to the story. (Trying not to use the ...'s) Meanwhile, their "facilitator" is trying to bribe people, which is very common over there, to waive the 10-day waiting period so they can bring Alex with them. Bribery didn't work, I release the breath I was holding because I was secretly wishing the bribery wouldn't work. Ok, I'm awful, but I WANTED to go & was excited now. So now, after all that, passport in hand, air travel scheduled (which you have to finalize & show proof of before you can apply for an expedited passport), packing started, and then we wait for October 8 to come.

To be continued...

FADS, OBSESSIONS, TIME-CONSUMING, WHATEVER...

As I've told you many, many times, I have OCD, so new fads or if you want to call them by their correct names, obsessions, are right up my alley. PLEASE DON'T tell me about new obsessions. (My family also begs you not to tell me.) I'll think they're dumb, then before you know it, I start getting involved with them to the point that I'm hooked!

My latest obsession...WEBKINZ
(Yes, I know my age so don't faint & all that garbage...I know Webkinz is for kids, but I'm NOT the only adult playing with them, so admit it...ok?). I am NOT going to tell you how many I have, but let's just say that each one has their own room (unlike Jodi who is miserly & makes them share rooms), they have 3 outdoor areas, a rec room, & kitchen...all FULLY loaded to the max. In addition, after spending many, many Kinz $$$'s, I still have over $36,000 (Kinz cash--don't I wish it was real??) & don't know what to buy next. My "Kinz" pets are spoiled.

So, now I've been thinking about other fads, obsessions, time-consuming waste of time inventions (in the future to be known as FOTCWOT). You probably won't remember some of these unless someone told you, you read about them in history books, or saw an old movie. Just bear with me, I'm going down memory lane. Maybe I should play that old song "Memories" by Barbara Streisand?? Ok, maybe not.

I know what my Dad's going to say, "Fads just didn't start when you were a teenager, you know?" and then I'm going to get this whole bu*tload of "informational" e-mail from him all about the history of different fads (come on Dad...it's just a joke--don't threaten AGAIN to stop e-mailing or blogging--ya know I'm teasing).

These are just some of the FOTCWOT's that I remember from the last 40 years or so. WOW, saying that I remember things from 40 years ago seems like it could be a lie since I can't remember things from this morning. Anyway, since I totally suck at doing slide shows, I'm going to try again--LOL! But first, I just had to explain this one:

(I had this EXACT Classic Barbie--outfit & all!! I couldn't believe I found this picture! My weenie dog Poochie bit one of her feet off so I got a new one.)

I know I didn't get them all, but what FOTCWOT's do you remember?

HAPPY MUSIC

(Turn up the sound if you dare OR click pause on my playlist below if you're at work & your co-workers would fly out of their seats when the music starts--oh yeah, it's probably already started by now, huh? LOL! Gotcha!)

The other day, I was driving down the freeway, just happier than can be, listening to a song that really gets my blood pumping, & if I wasn't so self-conscious, I'd be bouncing all over the place, "driving along in my automobile" (get it--it's a song--I guess you've got to be older). So, I got wondering, what song, when you're driving down the road all by yourself, "gets you going?" (Yeah, Moms...I know driving by yourself is an impossibility, but work with me here...) Anyway, ya know, singing out loud, etc., etc., etc. The song I was listening to was "Candyman" by Christina Aguilera. Oh, oh...I got another one!! Remember Jodi's blog about when we went to the Scrapbook party & we listened to "Party Like a Rock Star?" (That one's on my playlist now too. Yippee!) My Dad will probably say something like Roger Whitaker (oh man, ya REALLY gotta listen to that guy--NOT!), Willie Nelson, or Barbara Streisand. Need I go on? (Seriously, I've seen his CD's!) Yep, I realize I just ticked Dad off & he won't write a nice comment, oh well...

By the way, as if you REALLY care but this is my blog...I FINALLY had to take all the Pink Floyd off my iPod & will just have to stick to the CD's. Have you ever noticed that their songs all flow into the next one? VERY annoying when your setting is "Random" or "Shuffle" & listening to a cool song & it stops...just stops!!! My son Tyler had his iPod on "Shuffle" & was listening to Nine Inch Nails & then the next thing to come on was this book, "Jesus the Christ." Ummm...I don't think those two go well together.

HEY, BETSY!

Betsy, I thought of you when I saw this--LOL!

I'VE BEEN TAGGED...AGAIN!

Well, thank you Leah for tagging me again! I keep thinking there's nothing more to tell about myself that anyone would care to know. LOL! I'll try to come up with some more VERY interesting tidbits of non-important informative stuff that is time-consuming for the reader & truly informational information.

Here are the rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let the person know you tagged them on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when you've posted.

Let's see...

1. When I was about 12, & we lived in California at the time in a city called LaHabra (pretty close to Disneyland), up in the very beautiful hills. I rode a bus to & from school. One day, I wore a cute little jumper that I REALLY liked. Instead of regular straps going over the shoulders, decorative chains held the jumper up. Well, I got up to get off the bus, the chains had bunched up & loosened their hold on the buttons on both sides. Anyway, I stood up & there goes this REALLY cute jumper down to the floor leaving my underwear exposed for the whole world to see--including the boy that I had a crush on who was, of course, sitting right behind me, because I had worked it out that way--ya know how scheming we females can be. I burst into tears & Lorraine, the bus driver, yelled for the laughing bus load of kids to be quiet, calmly came back to help me, & asked my best friend to help me off the bus & get me home. Probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life! I never wore my favorite jumper again! Sob, hiccup. I need a nap to "forget." I'll be back in a while...

Ok, I'm back & have collected myself for more torture.

2. In 2001, I moved into a gated retirement community (this is Las Palmas Grand) after living in a really cute little house that I had bought just after getting divorced in 1997. The move was encouraged by my parents who were/are living in Southern Utah & wanted to move back to Arizona to be close to the kids & great grand kids. My parents were/are "getting on" in age (sorry Mom & Dad, but you have to face the facts--YOU ARE) & so we decided to purchase homes back to back so I could help them & they could help me. We put our homes up for sale, I sold mine & my parents, after trying for a while, couldn't get what they wanted out of theirs so they stopped trying. Too late for me! I was already committed, house was started, etc. If I backed out I would lose $5,000. (They did.) So, I moved into a 55 & older retirement community at age 44 (there's a Federal law that allows a percentage to be younger...). For quite a while, I was the youngest & got lots of dirty looks--too bad, so sad...I'm still younger than the required age. So there!

3. I took a disability retirement at the age of 45, after working for the "phone company" for about 24 years. I'm bi-polar (along with several other crappy things they've diagnosed), so I guess you could say that I'm certifiably "Goofy Grandma." I've been told by about 3 different Psychiatrists that I've been their toughest patient yet to treat. Normal bi-polar meds don't work on me--but, hey...I'm not normal so what did they expect? One day I'll tell you lots more. I have terrible bouts of spending, speeding, lots of different stuff in excess, & because I'm a "rapid cycler," can go into a depression (sometimes deep) pretty quick. Once I cycled twice in one day! Anyway, there you go--now you know how crazy I am.

4. As you already know, because I've probably told you many times before, I was run over by a tractor at the age of 5. I was very tiny so I didn't die. (I guess you figured that one out all by yourself, huh?) The dr. didn't charge my parents because when my Dad was in high school, he had saved the dr.'s son from drowning in a canal. I guess he figured he owed my Dad a favor. Too bad for Dad--LOL! I don't remember this, but my Mom told me I couldn't walk for 6 months. So, after being run over by the tractor, messing around with motorcycles, jeeps, snow skiing, & everything else that was on the dangerous side, I pretty much did a heck of a job to my neck & back. (I've had migraines most of my adult life, probably due to all of that.) I got put on steroids & pain meds off & on for years & gained lots of weight--oh NO, not telling you how much--not THAT dumb! (I also became addicted to those pain meds.) In 1995, I had what is known as an "Anterior Cervical Corpectomy," which really means that they took bone out of my hip, fused it into 3 of my cervical (neck) vertebrae, & connected a titanium plate with 6 screws into the whole setup. The surgeon who did it was one of the guys who developed the surgery--otherwise I would have had to wear one of those painful halos for 6 weeks. A year before my surgery, he did the same thing on the Queen of Saudi Arabia. At the time, the surgery was a big deal & about a 5 day hospital stay. Now, it's been refined enough to the point that it's outpatient.

Dang...2 more to go! What else???

5. Ok, back to being bi-polar/OCD/ADHD, etc...When I was still working, the big craze at the time was Beanie Babies. EVERYONE at work was buying them & saying what an "investment" they were because they would be able to sell them in a few years after that particular Beanie Baby was retired & make lots of bucks. Well, I thought it was stupid. Then, one day I walked into the store across the plaza where I worked & saw the cutest little bear! Just HAD to have it! You guessed it--Beanie Baby! Well, the overspending & excess kicked in BIG time! Remember, I thought it was a stupid thing to do AND I DIDN'T LIKE BEANIE BABIES!! I ended up buying well over $1,000 worth of the things! Of course, I never was able to sell them like all the "smart" people at work said we would do. I ended up donating all of them--way over 100--to Toys for Tots. At least I got the tax deduction for the donation. Big freaking whoopdie doo!

6. Part of my kitchen counter quickly & often becomes a "dumping" disaster. Jodi will attest to this. I walk in the house from, of course what else...spending...& DUMP the stuff on the counter where it stays for however long, until I decide I feel like putting it away or dumping it in the spare room or my very messy closet for later use. I AM NOT taking a picture of this one! You can just forget seeing that. Too bad for you, huh? Neener, neener, neener...use your imagination, but not very much, ok? Please?

Whew! I got 'er done! I'm supposed to tag & let those people know that they've been tagged. Well, here it goes: Shannon, because I'll bet you REALLY have some fun stuff to say; Kaci, because you're awesome & I want to learn more about you; KJ because I STILL want to know more & you're cool; Deb because I want to beat Jodi to you; Dad, because you STILL have lots to say; and last but not least...Mom, because Dad always blogs about stuff in his life, but we also want to know juicy details about you (Dad...come on...help her out here since she "doesn't do computer.)

ON BEING A MOMMY

Sometimes I do my best posts (the few I've done) while putting on my make-up in the morning, so by the time I get to the computer, it's totally evaporated from my brain.

Sometimes I think I became "Goofy Grandma" because of all the times I've kicked myself in the head over the many years of my life for all the lame, stupid things I've done as my kids were growing up. One being that I worked all their growing up years. I won't go into the reasons why I had to work, I just had to. I had to go back to work when Jodi was just 6 weeks old--oh, how I cried! Then, 5 years later, I was given the blessing of being home for the first year of Tyler's life, but then, back to work I went. Best year of being a Mommy! I was there for all the cool & not so cool things you do with a baby. I was there to send Jodi off to school & see her happily jump off the school bus coming home. But, then when I went to work, someone else got to be with them during the day. The pain I still feel in my heart because I wasn't there will never go away. (Oh, blubbering won't help me type this. Stop it!) One thing that I was so lucky to have was my Mom who took over caring for the kids some days. The kids still remember those times as being great & are very close to her.

What I'm trying to say is, a friend of Jodi's did an awesome post http://thecrittendenians.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-am-mother.html a little over a week ago (man I hope she doesn't kill me for giving that out!) that really got me thinking about all the things I read in your different blogs about your kids & the stresses & happiness of being a Mommy. For those of you who are blessed to stay home with your children, LOVE EVERY MOMENT you have. Good times & bad. Even when they are the biggest pains in your butt...You're not the "bad" Mommies you might think you are. After your kids have "flown the coop," your life will be VERY different. But then again, you might get to be a "Goofy Grandma," early retired, & able to hang out with them lots--maybe it makes up for some of the lost time.

Well, now that's out of the way, maybe I'll just delete this...or maybe I won't.

THE OFFENDING BB

This here's the famous offending BB mentioned in the aforementioned "Campin' Fun" post. As you can see, it looks like a green olive. No, I didn't sneak in a picture of a green olive to confuse you. I understand you're ever so much smarter than that. The BB is bright green with attached ear wax in all its glory!

Jodi didn't want to save this BB for posterity, but me, Goofy Grandma convinced her that I should save it for her so that when she does her scrapbook page about this trip, which she will do (probably already has done & won't tell me because she doesn't want the BB), it will be there for time & all eternity. (We disagree sometimes about what is VERY important for future reference.) I believe that Madison would LOVE to see this when she's looking through her multiple scrapbooks with her first boyfriend. However, Jodi finally saw the "light" & I agreed to keep it for safe-keeping until the page is completed.

So, this is what happened at the doctor's office the other day:

The appointment was for 11:30 a.m. When we walked in, there was a sign on the front desk saying the dr. was 50 min. behind!! OMG (gosh)! Jodi asked if we could keep our "place in line" & we'd take the girls to grab some lunch down the street. "Sure," the lady says. (By the way, doing a sit-down lunch with Olivia & Madison is a workout. I normally don't need to exercise for a week afterwards. (Oh, wait a minute...I don't exercise anyway.) We took our time. Came back...no dr. yet. Waiting...still no dr. Waiting some more...still no dr. We didn't see the dr. till about 1:00!! Apparently, the other doctors, knowing that it was going to be busy the day after a holiday, all took the day off except for this guy & 2 nurse practitioners! They're not dummies.

Ok...so the whole time we're waiting for the dr., Maddie's all freaked out, crying that she doesn't want to get the BB out. I'm explaining the finer points in life, like the irrefutable fact that the BB WILL cause that ear to become deformed (& I showed her what it would look like--I make-believed it would look like a wadded up kleenex). She agreed--at first--that the BB should come out, then changed her mind & decided the wadded up kleenex would be ok. The dr. comes in & she starts to freak out again, poor kid. Didn't help that we had to wait FOREVER! He talks to us, asks the required questions, talks to her, looks for the appropriate sized crochet hook (seriously) & proceeds to dig away amid weeping, wailing, & gnashing of teeth (oh, yeah, almost forgot...SCREAMING!!!!!!!!) POOR MADDIE!! We felt so bad for her. The dr. STILL couldn't get it out. He told us that he'd probably have to refer her to an ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat dr.) because he didn't want to hurt her anymore. BUT, he decided to try one more time...PRESTO! Out came the BB.

When Madison was little & got one of her immunizations, she thanked the nurse (again...seriously!). She didn't thank the dr. She got 2 stickers & Olivia got 1. To celebrate the removal & also to cheer Maddie up, we went to the only place that would be appropriate: (Don't they look like the BB?)

CAMPIN' FUN

I know it's taken FOREVER to post this...heck, we've been home a whole couple of days! (I am struggling with my "Slideshow"--being a "Goofy Grandma, again! If it doesn't show up, I'm lost.) Thank you everyone for wanting to read goofy old me's blog! Seriously...

First of all, we had a WONDERFUL trip. Jodi & family left to go camping last Wednesday, I couldn't leave till Friday afternoon because I had to babysit. We went to THE MOST BEAUTIFUL place in Arizona! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE camping in the forest--and NOT in a terrible campground--that's not camping for me, probably because I was raised camping in the mountains & forests of Utah. Anyway, of course as usual, I'm a digresser (is that a word?).

It's about a 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive up there (we go to a place by the Mogollon Rim--pronounced "Mogy-on"--north of Payson) I hope you can see where we went:

So, I get just a few miles south of Payson, when I get this call on my cell phone. On the other end is Jodi. They have to go to the "Rim" to get a cell phone signal, so I know it must be important. They don't just call to check on me--I'm a BIG girl now. Jodi asks me where I am & seems relieved when I tell her I'm just getting in to Payson. She asks me if I can stop at Walmart to pick up a "booger sucker." Ok, I assume one of the kids has a runny nose, but then think, "Hey, they can blow." So, I ask the obvious question, "What's up?" Well, "Madison has shoved an 'air soft BB' in her ear & we can't get it out." Instead of massive concern like most people, I burst out laughing. These kids are CRAZY NUTSO! Of course, we all know it will come out one way or another & "no worries." So off to Walmart I go. I have the "family disability" of going into a store & buying more than what I went in for. $20 later, off I go again.

Now, several miles & about a 1/2 hour later, I get to the turn off. By this time, I'm pretty irritated because the road is one lane each way with VERY limited passing "opportunities," traveling up a mountain behind OTHER campers & freaking SLOW drivers. (I AM NOT a SLOW driver!!!--remember my previous blog?? Parnelli Jones, race car driver.) So, I'm behind this

S L O W guy, right? Arrrgh!!! He turns off the road onto the VERY SAME dirt road I'm turning onto!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, NOW he decides so go fast. He peels out, flipping dirt AND rocks on my car. I have to stop & give him some space so I can even see let alone preserve my car. Why, oh why, are people stupid? Am I the ONLY smart person around? (Of course not, but at the time I sure thought so.) Ok, so off I go, driving my Toyota Camry down a dirt road that's rocky & bumpy, filled with pot holes, that eventually goes down steep mountain grades. I go around a blind curve & SIDEWAYS in the middle of the road is the guy that's been in front of me. He's turning around on a blind curve, on a steep downhill part of the road. I slam on my brakes, allow the idi*t to turn around & drive past me--again at a high rate of speed. On I go. Finally, I get to camp. The kids come running--I LOVE IT!

Jodi & Matt attempted for quite a while with the "booger sucker," a little straw (with massive sucking abilities by Dad--impressive), tweezers, everything--no luck with the BB. By this time, Maddie has resigned herself to a life with a BB in her ear. NO DR. FOR HER, OH NO WAY!!! I'm still not sure why she did it--to see if it fit? I do know she didn't tell anyone for a while because she was afraid she'd get in trouble.

The camping for the next 2 days were GREAT! It rained a bit each day, but we all love it like that AND it keeps it cool. We went for a few rides on the Ranger, sat by the campfire, played Phase 10 & UNO (which Matt NEVER does at home but will do with his kids), read, napped, visited with Matt brothers & their families, & their friends.

On the last day, we played Badminton & Volleyball (sure wish I had a picture of Jodi playing that one--LOL! Most of the time she was crouched down with her hands over her face, the BIG baby!!) We got sore, I got a blood blister on my foot because of my "improper" tennis shoes, but sure had FUN!!

So the trip home was uneventful. Oh, did I mention I almost hit a coyote on the way home? Watch for the next post: "The Offending BB"

A CAMPIN' WE WILL GO

And we're off! Yippee!! Jodi & her family left Wednesday night to go camping & I'm leaving this afternoon to meet them up there in the nice, cool, peaceful forest. Peaceful time to be had by all. Far away from the heat & mugginess (we're doing it up real well here with the monsoon season) & away from other hassles of "real" life, like figuring out what's at the store that I absolutely cannot live without. Won't miss anything here, no siree...(except I wish Tyler & Shannon could come up--they WORK TOO HARD!)

We don't have "guest bloggers" like other lucky people do, so hey...TTFN! :D

OMG (GOSH)!!!!

In "researching" pictures for my next post, I came across these marvelous two pictures of iPod accessories. Seriously...who the heck would wear this one?

Without saying anything that would "offend," when you put a tight sweater over this puppy, won't it be a little extra bumpy in certain areas?

And then...here's something that you might REALLY need, some "mood" music for the throne!

P.S. By the way, I REALLY do have a good excuse for not blogging for such a long time. Just you wait and see!

A BLOGGING AWARD FOR LITTLE OL' ME?? YAY!!

I GOT AN AWARD, I GOT AN AWARD, I GOT AN AWARD!!! YAY!!! (Not deserved, but...I'll take it however it comes.) Both Kaci & Jodi gave me the same kool blogging award. It's amazing what people give you when they run out of REAL deserving people--LOL!

I'd like to thank the Academy, my daughter Jodi, my new blogging friend Kaci, my mother for borning me, my father for helping born me (get it??), my cats for sitting around meowing all the time, my "manager" (oops! got rid of him long ago if ya catch my drift...), etc., etc., etc.

Well anyway, you understand, right? I tossed & turned, then tossed & turned again ALL FREAKING NIGHT LONG trying to figure out who I could pass this award on to. Who is deserving to be the recipient of such a kool award. I finally came up with a few GREAT ones that were missed before:

Envelope please...

First, I'd like to pass this award to my Dad. When he's in the posting mood, he does a great job of reminding me of what a GREAT life I had with all of his "rememberings." Also, because he's been such an awsome Dad all my life. I have the best parents in the world! (Now, if we could just get him to figure out how to add pictures...)

I would also like to pass this award to another new blogging friend KJ. I'm amazed at the great insight she has & the inspiration she gives me. I KNOW she's patient because she's a pre-school teacher. How hard is THAT job??? Not one I could do. I'm also proud to know her because I'm bi-polar & I KNOW what she's going through with a bi-polar spouse. Hang in there my friend!

My friend & Jodi's neighbor, Sean A'lee who HASN'T POSTED IN MORE THAN A MONTH!!! GASP! I don't know why, because she's cool, does some awesome posts, & has good music! (I'm going to have to e-mail her so she'll know she got this or she won't even know.)

And finally, the last award goes to (yeh, I know...there should be 7...BUT Jodi took the other ones I could give to--blame her!). So, to pay her back, the last award goes to Jodi also, but to her other blog...Scrapbooks 1, 2, 3 because when she does it, she puts so much work into it, her pages, & on top of all that, it's funny! I know what you're going to say Jodi..."Pbhhhhhhhtt!" My comment to you is: kagjoi3egujkjokejokejokeha!ha!djk (BITE ME!).

GOOFY GRANDMA RIDES AGAIN! LOL!

Believe it or not, I got to Jodi's this morning at the butt crack of dawn (7 freaking 30!). I'm retired for crying out loud! I haven't had the chance till this morning--3 WHOLE days--to go help drop Madison at school. What an event! All the kids still dressing up, looking excited, Mother's less & less fearful, oops--one little boy crying & Maddie a little slow to pull herself away from Mom, even when Mom gave her several "Nurbers" ("ggannrrnghtl"--kind of like a goofy sounding snort--if you think a woman doing a snort sounds innocent & wonderful I guess...or maybe a woman pretending to be a garbage disposal--ahh, that's it!! Jodi the garbage disposal.)

Ok, so we get done taking Maddie to school & getting rained on, oh why did I get up so early to do my hair & put on my make-up? We're both starving so we decide to go to Mickey D's drive thru for breakfast, with a detour to the gas station & the grocery store--according to Jodi, she just needs milk. I sit in the car with Olivia while she "dashes" in for the "just milk." 10 minutes later, out she saunters with 3 sacks. Obviously, this grocery store requires their baggers to use 3 bags to bag up their milk????? (Jodi has inherited the "just one thing" tendency from my Dad--Grandpa Dan). In they go & back out with about $75 worth of...what???

Anyway, we get breakfast, go to Jodi's & there on the floor is Olivia's spilt cereal including milk, all over the floor--lovely...We eated...(accorded to Livvie.) I go to throw away my trash, no bag. I put a new bag in & wonder where Jodi is so I can harass her. She's in checking everyone's blogs--good for her. She gets to Leah's & we read her cute blog about Emily cheerleading & see her cute hair pic. Which of course Jodi abruptly hollers (I jumped out of my chair), "That looks like my puppy dog hair!!!" Goodie for her. I think it's cute! Jodi never liked me doing her hair like that--see her blog about her birthday in April. So, I want to comment, but Jodi beats me to it since she's at the keyboard. Weeping, wailing, & gnashing of teeth is commenced as we struggle/jockey for position at the keyboard, with me pushing her chair out of the way, then her pulling my chair so hard I fall on the floor, just to be the first to comment on the cute hair. Jodi eventually won, but I sure got the last laugh (actually, we both were laughing). Jodi's comment ended up with lots of this: laskdjfas;odiuoawkjnrewlkfedvsod8uaijlsdfj sdiofa;lkfjawe;kdi8foska asdoiu lsdkfjlk;odsauiuas (Sorry Leah...) Then, I GOT to comment. Not to be outdone, Jodi "helped" me with my comment. It ended up looking like this: ksldfaoisufalksmfl a'o; 'rea;dslkjagoifdua;dldf;ldsaiofuga0oi hjaker aklj --with a few real words mixed in there. By this time, tears were rolling down our faces we were laughing so hard--the rest of my make-up (after the rain earlier) left my face. Among all the funness, Jodi killed her internet & I had to log back on. Then, I blocked Jodi's hands a couple of times but, she started typing this: alkdofisuafs#L$Q90o9jlksd*0 with her feet. What can I say? I have a multi-talented daughter. So, I apologized AGAIN to Leah & quickly logged off.

Not done yet folks! Oh no, not done...Jodi was fixing Olivia's hair & the laughing commenced once again. This is why:
I think Mickey D's slipped something into our Breakfast Burritos. I might have to talk to them about it sometime, but then again...Why?

JODI WON'T TELL YOU SO I WILL

If you didn't know, Jodi has another blog that she hasn't really said much about...you just need to look on the right hand side of her blog. I don't think she wants to "toot her own horn," so I will. Oops, gotta be careful about tooting. (Don't bend over!) It's called Scrapbooks 1, 2, 3
( http://jodisobsession.blogspot.com/) or click on the link on my page or her's. It's REALLY cute & shows you how to make a scrapbook page. Of course, it's humorous too. Check it out.

MY TRIP TO SEE GRANDMA

This is my sweet Grandma Christina. She's 95!!

Earlier this year, my parents told me that my Mom's side of the family (step brother & sisters & others) were going to have their annual family reunion in northeastern Utah. They asked if I wanted to go & I'm just not into family reunions, ya know? But, Grandma Christina was going to be there & I've missed her soooo much, so I said I would tough it out so I could see her. I used get to see Grandma fairly often when I lived in Salt Lake, but since I moved down to Arizona, not much at all. So, I booked my flight to Las Vegas. Now, you're asking, "Why is she flying to Vegas if her Grandma lives in northeastern Utah? " Nope, I'm not NUTS (this time...). My parents live in St. George (southern Utah) & it's WAY cheaper to fly to Vegas than it is to Salt Lake, & since my parents were taking me with them, it's smarter to fly there & have them pick me up. Right? Well, shortly after I booked my flight, Grandma fell & broke her pelvis & for other reasons, the reunion was cancelled, which was fine with me. My Aunt Patsy took Grandma to Logan to be closer to her (Logan is in WAY northern Utah, almost to Idaho). Instead of cancelling my flight, I realized I REALLY wanted to see Grandma, so off I went. (Jodi, Madison, & Olivia took me to the airport & I heard that they got all upset that I left. Insert an "AHHH How Cute?"...here.) My parents picked me up, we drove 2 hours back to St. George, stayed overnight at their house, & left the next morning for our wonderful, all day trip to Logan. I wasn't feeling well when I left home but I like to drive, so I drove part of the way from Vegas to their place. Well, Mom finally talked me into letting her drive, so I climbed in the back to take a nap. I had just barely fallen asleep when lo & behold, there was a billboard that Dad felt the need to read out LOUD to Mom. Something about the price of rooms in Mesquite. Up I popped. I settled down again & as we passed Mesquite, Mom & Dad decided they needed to locate the "4" on the mountain (it looks like a "4" from the way the water runs down). Up I popped again. Lots of rest, huh? I gave up trying to sleep after they continued to discuss maybe Dad ought to drive up the Gorge (this narrow canyon than winds & winds around up the mountain). It was getting to be dusk & Mom doesn't like to drive in the dark. I offered to drive again since I was awake, but Mom kept on driving. Finally, we finally got to their place.

Like I said before, we left the next morning for Logan. Several hours & about 43 potty breaks later (not just for my parents, but I will admit, I had to "potty" too--NEVER, NEVER take a water pill before traveling!!), we arrived in Logan, checked into our hotel room, & went to see Grandma. It was wonderful to see her again! She really looks good for 95, don't you think? We loaded up her wheelchair & Dad's walker (fun undertaking for it all to go in the trunk...NOT!) & off we went to the restaurant everyone recommended. Grandma picked at her dinner. I ordered potato skins, thinking I'd get about 6 & ended up with 12!!! Have you EVER tried eating 12 potato skins in one sitting?? Not done. They were good, but even I can't finish that many. When we were done, we went to my aunt's house to visit & then back to the rehab/nursing home. We had a great visit with Grandma!

Now, if you remember back to my last post, that night was not a great night for sleeping. Let's just say, I was happy when the night was over!! Enough said...

The next morning we went to visit Grandma one last time before heading back to Salt Lake:

Back in Salt Lake, we settled into our hotel room, had dinner with my sister Trudy & her son Beau, & went to visit my Dad's sister Dorothy & her husband Weldon. Back to the hotel room. I definitely was NOT going to replay the previous night's sleeping pattern, so I took one of my many pills that makes me drowsy. I slept like a baby. Didn't hear Dad get up at all. Of course, he didn't want to endure my torturous teasing so he slept with a towel AND the sheet over his face mask all night--LOL!

The next day we drove back to St. George, which again took a few additional hours for several more potty stops, including a stop in a town called Beaver (yes, Beaver) for some delicious Curds (cheese--like "Curds & Whey, ya know?) at the cheese factory, & a good Mexican dinner in Cedar City.

The rest of my stay was at my parent's house which was a really nice stay this time. My Dad & I are so much alike that sometimes we argue a little too much, but he was on his good behavior & I guess so was I, so we had a good time. We didn't even fight over the computer. Their DVR (TiVO) was broken, but hey, when they get a new one, everyone has their own remote plus some.

They took me to dinner & lunch a couple of times & I got to go shopping with my Mom. The original idea was that I was going to buy a dress. I ended up buying several blouses & pants & 1 dress. I won't tell you how much I spent. (Too much!) One of these days, I'll tell you all about my Mother's shopping habits. Let's just say for now, she's a GREAT shopper! When it was time to go, I felt bad because I had only been there for a week & instead of being ready to go home, I wished I had a few more days. My parents are

ABSOLUTELY THE BEST!!!

When I got back to Phoenix, Jodi picked me up at the airport, took me home, I dropped my luggage, called the dr. & off I went. The diagnosis: Bronchitis! (This will factor into my next blog about the camping trip. Stay tuned...)

P.S. As you know, again from Jodi's blog that stole all my thunder, a few years ago, we got to go to Salt Lake where my parents brought her so we could get a 5 generation picture of us females. Now, I know (as usual) that Jodi beat me to the picture, but since she's MY grandma, here it is again.

This was taken in 2004 when Madison was almost a year old.

SURE WAS HARD TO SLEEP LAST NIGHT!

Here I am on my trip to Northern Utah to visit my 95-year old Grandma Christina. When I get home, I'll download some pictures for you to see. We stayed in Logan last night & got to take Grandma with us to dinner, then visit with her, Aunt Patsy, & Uncle David. Later, back at the hotel, I found a computer that Dad didn't know was around & I tried not to let him know about it. This is important later in my story.

Dad & Mom were tired from traveling all day from Southern Utah, so they quickly plopped down to go to bed. I'm still on Arizona time, wasn't tired, so I watched TV for a while. Finally, I got tired, turned off the TV & promptly fell asleep. Sleep didn't last for long. Soon I hear all this noise like "khhghghghkhkkghkskkghkskkk" (or make your own AWFUL noise here...). Dad has had 2 massive strokes, quintuple heart bypass & wears this mask over his face because he has really bad sleep apnea & snores loud enough to wake the alive, the dead, the unborn, whoever...When he wears the mask thingie, you pretty much just hear the machine going & it can end up putting you to sleep like white noise. Everything was fine till Dad "adjusted" it. That's when the AWFUL noise started. Ok, all adjusted...back to sleep...pretty soon it happens again...took the mask off...AWFUL noise, digging around in his big glass for some ice. Ok, got the ice...crunch, crunch, crunch...AWFUL noise while the mask gets adjusted...back to sleep. Multiply this by about 3 more times, including him getting up to go to the bathroom which is another fun time because you have to include hearing him bang around with his walker & all other accompanying annoying noise that goes along with someone getting up in the middle of the night. Oh, also...the bathroom light was on all night so when the door was opened, bright light lit the room. At 3:30 a.m. (I know because I had the clock on my side of the room), the AWFUL noise once again. Dad gets up, clunks around, goes out of the room & hobbles down to the front desk where they show him where the computer is--SHAME on them!! That is why some of you got a bunch of e-mail today. About an hour later, the door bangs open, clunking around with the walker & smack into something which causes a loud "OUCH!" then back into bed, AWFUL noise again...back to sleep. Another hour...AWFUL noise again, clunking around door bangs open & out he goes for early breakfast...back to sleep. Who knows when later, door bangs open, clunking around, "Here's some orange juice...there's breakfast down there." Yawn...time to start a brand new, bright, happy, restful day! I get up & get ready...got to breakfast...come back & Dad's sound asleep! (I warned Dad that I would be posting this. He said he would never talk to me again. I said, "You promise?") I LOVE YOU DAD!! Can't wait for bedtime tonight in a new hotel here in Salt Lake. I'm putting on my iPod & headphones.

MEMORIES

(I'm on my trip to Northern Utah to see my 95-year old Grandma & can't post pictures of the visit till I get back home, so I got this idea from Jodi's blog.)

So, go ahead & leave a memory for me. (Not too embarrassing, ok?)

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you (unless I've already left one, since I'm doing this in response to all your memory posts).

BEDROOM--BEFORE & AFTER

I know, this has taken FOREVER to post--I'm sorry! This first picture is how my bedroom looked before we painted it & put in new bedding & drapes. The room was a little outdated considering I had a bunch of roses on the wall, bedside table & dresser. Plus, the drapes that I picked out when I bought the house were awful! I hated them from the beginning.

Thank goodness Shannon so nicely volunteered to help me paint!! I don't know what I would have done without her help. I had painted my living room & hallway right before Christmas--yep, dumb time to do it, but I had just gotten new furniture & my parents were coming so vanity caused me to undertake this awful job during the busiest time of the year. It had taken me 4 days doing it by myself (stubborn me--Shannon had volunteered then too, but I couldn't bring myself to inflict that kind of awfulness on her), getting up & down the ladder with a bad back & afraid of heights was NOT fun--the ceiling is higher than normal. Afterwards, I felt like a crippled old lady. So, when Shannon volunteered this time, I gladly accepted. She didn't know what she was in for.

The first day was kind of busy for us (Shanon working, me puttering), so by the time we got together, all we had time for was to buy the paint, rollers, move the bed away from the wall, etc. Fine by me. I just wasn't looking forward to it, ya know? It was weird sleeping in the middle of the room. My cats kept looking at me like I was goofier than usual. The next day we got started. Shannon had this WONDERFUL idea of using this new little edger thing (called Shur-Line) so you don't have to tape the ceiling, corners, & baseboards. You end up doing very little touch-up or taping. It was GREAT! Anyway...we were only able to paint a few hours each night because she was so nice & helped me after work, but we got it done in about 3 1/2 days. We also painted the computer room that connects to my bedroom & then I had this wonderful, bright idea that since my bathroom also joined my bedroom, it had to be painted too. The second day, I told Shannon that I was happy she was there so she could paint the high places--remember I don't like heights--& after she had been painting all the high places all along, she said, "I don't like high places either." How cool is that? She braved it out for me?

When we got into the bathroom to paint, I got in the shower to tape above the tile, stepped onto the stupid fiberglass seat & promptly broke a big hole in it. I thought fiberglass was strong! I guess not for standing but for sitting??? This project was fast becoming VERY expensive. I could just envision me having to put in a new shower if the hole
(can you see that awful thing???) couldn't be fixed. I was talking to my Dad about it & he had what I thought was a goofy idea to have Matt (Jodi's contractor/builder husband) just tile over the 2 seats. I thought, "Well, that's going to look really bad." But, I mentioned it to Matt & he said that the idea was a pretty good one--we would get some cultured marble the same color as the shower & he could cut it to fit the seats & put them on top for hardly any cost at all. I still have to get in touch with someone who might have scraps I could buy. (I'll do that when I get back from my trip to Utah.) Meanwhile, I'm taking showers in the spare bathroom. Do you know how fun it is to plaster the shower curtain against the shower walls so the water won't leak through to the floor, only to find out that the water somehow mysteriously leaks through anyway. I always have big puddles on the floor. Again, my cats seem to understand there's something really weird going on with the new shower situation. They follow me to the bathroom, sit there for a minute, & then lay down to wait.

Anyway, here's a picture of my "new" bedroom, Jodi made the green pillow out of the material that I bought. I just happened to find 2 new lamps that match the pillow material almost exactly at "my favorite store" (Bed, Bath & Beyond). If you see on the picture of the old bedroom, the lamp was TOTALLY ugly so of course...great reason to BUY new lamps! YAY!

I couldn't find a bedside tablecloth to match the terra cotta color that I wanted so I bought cheap white sheets, dyed them (but they turned out too light), dyed them again (just a little darker), added more brown (a little darker) & fourth time added "Scarlett" (just the right shade I wanted). Then, I tried cutting it out & found out the sheets were too narrow--my luck of course, so I was going to have to make ruffles. JUST GREAT! Me sewing--remember, I DON'T SEW! Well, that day, I just so happened to go to a different Bed, Bath & Beyond & lo & behold!! Yippee!! They had a terra cotta table cloth for $14, then with the coupon, it came to about $11. So, I got it. See...


So anyway, I hope you like the "new" bedroom. I still have to get a few things like pictures & that kind of stuff. And I'm not used to something so fancy (the bedspread's all this fancy, shiny material), but I'm getting used to it.

I'M SAD TODAY

Yesterday, my little 86-year old neighbor, Irene, passed away. She's had heart trouble for a couple of years, in & out of the hospital with congestive heart failure, etc. But, just in the last four months, she's gone down hill really fast. Irene started getting dementia which progressed quickly. She did some goofy things while still at home that caused us all to worry about her living alone. She didn't have any kids but was close to her niece Carla, so Carla took her home to live with her family last month. I immediately missed her because I used to see her every day when I took her mail to her, fixed her medication box, helped her around the house, & just visited with her. I went to see her a couple of times at Carla's & she was getting pretty frail. The other day, Carla's daughter called me & told me that Irene probably wouldn't be around much longer according to the Hospice nurses. I quickly went over to visit & she was so deeply asleep that she didn't wake up at all. I held her hand & told her I was there & she scrunched her eyes a little, moved just a bit, breathed heavier & I got the feeling she "knew" I was there. Carla told me that Irene had been arguing with people that had already "passed on" for the last week & chewing them out because they wouldn't answer her. Then, she would look off to the side, not focusing on what was going on around her. Carla asked her what was going on & when she finally replied, Irene told her that her Mom & Dad were standing at the door asking her to come with them & that they wouldn't come to her. Carla told her that next time they came for her, that she should go. She said, "Okay," & tried to get out of bed. You just knew she was ready to go. Even though I knew it was Irene's time to go & that she would be much better off where she was going to, it made me sad when it finally happened. Now my "listener" & friend is in a better place, but I miss her. I know I'll see her again & just want to say, "Irene, I miss & love you."