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.