Since things have been kind of crazy around her I thought I would let Trev be a guest blogger on my site. Just to change things up a little.
So introducing for the first time, TREV (applause)
so ive got the ipod touch and it is great but one thing....... the battery life! the ipod touch can do so much that it gets weighed down and the battery life drains so easily but it takes from completely dead to full in about a hour. over all it is a good toy.
but another little hint is that you need to get a case for the back so the metal does not scratch and some screen protectors and you will be set
here is a link to my website http://treversite.weebly.com/
He is so cute! All he could talk about Christmas Day was his iPod Touch. About drove me nuts.
I hope you enjoyed the first guest blogger here at Rhonda's Way.
Thank you and good night.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Brandy's 1 year Design-iversary
I hadn't told everybody about my latest and greatest adventure yet. Don't know why! I am proud to announce that I am one of the newest members of Brandy Designs Blog Team. Yippy for me!! I am so thankful that Brandy has given me this opportunity. My ultimate goal is to, maybe, just maybe, someday become a designer my self. Any way. The reason I am quickly telling you about this is because......
Drum roll please........
Starting January 1, we will be celebrating Brandy's 1 year Design-iversary on her blog!
Each day in January, there will be a freebie download and at the end of the month, you will have a complete mega kit great for scrapping those winter photos and it is even versatile enough to scrap your everyday photos as well!
January 7, there will be a template challenge. Make sure you visit then to download your free template and every participant will be a winner with one grand prize.
During the month of January, she will also retire some of her oldies but goodies to make room for 2010! Select items will be on sale for $1.00-$2.00. All other items will be on sale for 30% off all month!
Every customer in January will be put into a drawing to win all of my New Releases for 3 months!
So don't forget to go over to www.brandy-designs.blogspot.com and get some really cool stuff.
Thank you and good night.
Thank you and good night.
Monday, December 21, 2009
The most hap-happiest time of the year....
This years holiday season has been kind of crazy for us.
We started by celebrating Thanksgiving in Alabama with my wonderful in-laws. Which of course came with it's own slew of craziness. Making sure the Jeep would make it on the 574.01 mile trip. I didn't make that number up either. Cost us $500.00. Okay no big deal. Family safe on the drive up there, check. The weather was quite chilly for us Floridians. Highs in the low to mid 60's and lows as low as 32. Can you say burr.
My in-laws live in a very hilly area. This is what it looks like from the front yard.
Look at how cute he is. Right there in the center. I am so proud of him. I was the mom that was sitting on the floor front and center. I swear I was a paparazzi in another life.
Now school is out for Christmas break. Yea, Boo! I have so much to do for Christmas. Cookie exchange on Sunday, dinner at my sisters on Christmas Eve, brunch with Grandma, at my house, Christmas morning and Christmas lunch with Babe's side of the family at our house. Busy, busy, busy.
All in all I have to say I am fairing pretty well. This is still the Hap-Happiest time of the year.
Merry Christmas!
We started by celebrating Thanksgiving in Alabama with my wonderful in-laws. Which of course came with it's own slew of craziness. Making sure the Jeep would make it on the 574.01 mile trip. I didn't make that number up either. Cost us $500.00. Okay no big deal. Family safe on the drive up there, check. The weather was quite chilly for us Floridians. Highs in the low to mid 60's and lows as low as 32. Can you say burr.
My in-laws live in a very hilly area. This is what it looks like from the front yard.
That is Trev at the bottom of the hill. Look at all the beautiful fall leaves on the ground. Anyway, Babe decided that he was going to take Trev's long board for a rid himself. You can see where this is going can't you? He goes down the hill in the picture, and back up the hill that you can't see in the picture. Mind you he has no helmet or knee pad or anything on. He starts coming down the hill. All is looking well. Then the board begins to shake back and forth. Babe knows he is in trouble at this point and tries to save himself and jumps of the long board trying to run at the same speed he was going. While this was a valiant effort on his part, it did not work. He fell forward landing on his hands and knees and doing a front roll and popped back up on his feet. As this is going on all I could think of was "Tuck and roll grandma, tuck and roll". It was actually pretty graceful to watch. The best part, besides that he didn't get seriously injured, was that I got it all on tape. Yep Rhondasway.com fans I got it on tape! If I can ever figure out how to upload it, I will post if for your viewing pleasure.
The rest of the vacation went off without a hitch. We had a fabulous BBQ Thanksgiving Feast, which I posted about earlier this week. We went to the McWayne Center which is a childrens museum. The kids loved it. I didn't have to cook my kids breakfast for a whole week. I got to sleep in. Didn't have to think about what was for dinner. It was great.
Then we came back.
Coming back from vacation is one of the hardest things to do. It's like Monday. It sucks. Trying to get back in the groove of things is really hard. I have to cook breakfast for my kids again. School morning rush around. What's for dinner, help with homework, cleaning the house. (cringe) Root canals. (double cringe) It usually takes me about a week. Babe's schedule is not any better. Returning phone calls from people that wanted the work done yesterday, catching up, collecting money, that sort of thing. Just when we get back in the swing of things.....
Christmas.
Oh, wonderful yet chaotic Christmas.
Start off with a Root Canal. Not so bad, right? Wrong. Have you ever heard of Trismus? Can I get the definition please? Trismus n. - a spasm of the jaw muscles that makes it difficult to open the mouth. Yep folks as if getting a root canal wasn't bad enough my jaw clamps down towards the end of the procedure and I can't get it open again. I could only open my mouth enough to slide my pinky finger in. Thankfully the last minute stuff that need to be done didn't require me to open my mouth all the way. All and all the experience was not half bad. The half bad part was that my insurance didn't cover it. $800 later, the root canal is done.
Now comes the crown and bridge. Killing 2 birds with one stone. Long story short, I thought my insurance covered it, the dentists told me it would be $800 with my insurance. They call me the day before, to tell me my insurance does not cover it, but they are going to honor the fee schedule anyway. They call me back later that day to tell me they made and mistake, they won't honor the fee schedule, and that it is going to cost me $2,400. No thank you. Put the crown and not the bridge and be done. $940. Can you say charge it?
Then my grandma has stroke number 2. She is going to be 89 in February. So I visit her in the hospital. She is doing really well. She will be going home in a couple of days. But in the mean time I have the task of doing all of her Christmas shopping. Shopping is okay, but not 10 days from Christmas. I would rather cut my wrist with a spork.
On to the baby daddy drama. I don't like thinking about this or dealing with it so I'm not even going to write about it. I have baby daddy drama and we will leave it at that.
Christmas Program. Which, I must say, is the highlight of this Christmas season so far. Aden played a Shepard.
Look at how cute he is. Right there in the center. I am so proud of him. I was the mom that was sitting on the floor front and center. I swear I was a paparazzi in another life.
Now school is out for Christmas break. Yea, Boo! I have so much to do for Christmas. Cookie exchange on Sunday, dinner at my sisters on Christmas Eve, brunch with Grandma, at my house, Christmas morning and Christmas lunch with Babe's side of the family at our house. Busy, busy, busy.
All in all I have to say I am fairing pretty well. This is still the Hap-Happiest time of the year.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Latte Art Test
I was over at Polka Dot Plum browsing the challenge forums and found this little quiz. It is the Latte Art Test.
This is my result.
You Are Whimsical and Sweet You are a big dreamer, and you can't help but get swept away when you start dreaming. Your own thoughts are a lot more interesting than what's going on in the world.
You are a very sensual person. You're the type to notice every smell, feel, and taste of your latte.
Your energy level is moderate. You tend to approach life at a very steady pace. Nothing really amps you up or tires you out.
Your signature latte would have to have a welcoming flavor, like vanilla. And you wouldn't mind if it was a little sweet.
Take the test here. It is cute, fun and short. Best of all you don't have to register for anything.
What does your latte say about you?
This is my result.
You are Whimsical and Sweet
You are a very sensual person. You're the type to notice every smell, feel, and taste of your latte.
Your energy level is moderate. You tend to approach life at a very steady pace. Nothing really amps you up or tires you out.
Your signature latte would have to have a welcoming flavor, like vanilla. And you wouldn't mind if it was a little sweet.
Take the test here. It is cute, fun and short. Best of all you don't have to register for anything.
What does your latte say about you?
Thursday, December 17, 2009
I'm really digging this stuff
The other day while I was aimlessly wondering around the grocery store I spotted this
I have heard many people talk about this smooth and creamy chocolate hazelnut spread. How great it's smoothness is. How wonderful the light chocolate flavor compliments the earthy taste of the hazelnut. I even saw the industrial size at Costco the other day. The size that you could fill a bath tub with and still have some left over. Yet, I have never tried it.
Until yesterday that is.
Where have you been all my life? How have I lived on this earth for 32 years and never experienced your wonderfulness?
Please, please, for the sake of the children, go out and get yourself some Nutella TODAY!
I will be making a trip to Costco today.
Monday, December 14, 2009
BBQ Thanksgiving in Alabama ya'll
This Thanksgiving we went to see Babe's family in Alabama. We use to celebrate Thanksgiving here, in Florida, until Babe's parents moved to Alabama to be with their older son and his family. As much as I would like to tell you that it was no big deal when they moved, I can't. I would be lying. My mom always told me not to lie so I won't. IT SUCKS!
I get along great with my in-laws. I hear some of you laughing. I'm serious. I can honestly say that I have had no crazy, drama filled stories about how my mother-n-law took my kids to a tattoo parlor and got them inked with I Love G'ma on their arms, while downing whisky. No stories like that here. Nothing but love for the in-laws.
The condensed version....We went for a week. It was pretty chilly. Babe hurt himself the 2nd day there by skateboarding down a hill. I got it all on video, I got to go see New Moon (yeah baby) we had a BBQ Thanksgiving dinner, we left. It was fun.
Here was our Thanksgiving dinner spread.
It makes me drool just thinking about it. Everybody contributed. My sister-n-law, Roll Tide, made cheesy potatoes and green bean casserole. My mother-n-law made, my favorite, sweet potato casserole and potato rolls with honey butter, which are not pictured. Babe made his "Ow so finger licking good" ribs. I may be bias, but they ARE the best ribs around. My bro-n-law, Wayne, made the pulled pork and I made salad. Yes, just salad. Out of a bag. I'm pathetic I know. The other things I don't have pictures of are the pumpkin pie and Oreo cheese cake. My sister-n-laws parents made those. They were to die for!
And it was all fat free. Did you know that the average person consumes around 5,000 calories on Thanksgiving. I'm just saying.
For you digital scrapbookers out there I used Inspiration Lanes Daily Download kit Funky Fall, which you can get here.
Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving, cause I know I did.
Thank you and good night.
I get along great with my in-laws. I hear some of you laughing. I'm serious. I can honestly say that I have had no crazy, drama filled stories about how my mother-n-law took my kids to a tattoo parlor and got them inked with I Love G'ma on their arms, while downing whisky. No stories like that here. Nothing but love for the in-laws.
The condensed version....We went for a week. It was pretty chilly. Babe hurt himself the 2nd day there by skateboarding down a hill. I got it all on video, I got to go see New Moon (yeah baby) we had a BBQ Thanksgiving dinner, we left. It was fun.
Here was our Thanksgiving dinner spread.
It makes me drool just thinking about it. Everybody contributed. My sister-n-law, Roll Tide, made cheesy potatoes and green bean casserole. My mother-n-law made, my favorite, sweet potato casserole and potato rolls with honey butter, which are not pictured. Babe made his "Ow so finger licking good" ribs. I may be bias, but they ARE the best ribs around. My bro-n-law, Wayne, made the pulled pork and I made salad. Yes, just salad. Out of a bag. I'm pathetic I know. The other things I don't have pictures of are the pumpkin pie and Oreo cheese cake. My sister-n-laws parents made those. They were to die for!
And it was all fat free. Did you know that the average person consumes around 5,000 calories on Thanksgiving. I'm just saying.
For you digital scrapbookers out there I used Inspiration Lanes Daily Download kit Funky Fall, which you can get here.
Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving, cause I know I did.
Thank you and good night.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
There was a Cold Lady who Swallowed Some Snow
I was looking for something in one of my bookcases the other day and came across and great winter book for the kiddos. It use to be Trev's a long time ago. I took it out of his book stash and put it in mine so that Stinky could enjoy it when he got the appropriate age. Well, this is that age.
It's called "There was a Cold Lady who swallowed some snow"
I totally recommend this book. I have read it to Stinky several times. He loves it. He loves to say "Perhaps you know", the cute little catch phrase at the end of each section. Go and get the book, you'll see what I'm talking about. You will thank me later.
Until we meet again.
It's called "There was a Cold Lady who swallowed some snow"
I totally recommend this book. I have read it to Stinky several times. He loves it. He loves to say "Perhaps you know", the cute little catch phrase at the end of each section. Go and get the book, you'll see what I'm talking about. You will thank me later.
Until we meet again.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
It's a Coast Guard Christmas
Every year the Coast Guard puts on a Christmas "party" for the "Coasties" and their families. Yesterday was that day, and, since my older sister and her husband both are in the Coast Guard, we get to go. Yeah for us!
They have blow up slides, crafts, face painting and food. All for free! But, the main attraction is Santa and Mrs. Claus being flown in on a Coast Guard Helicopter. How cool is that? Real cool! Beyond cool. Then Santa a Mrs. Claus sit and take pictures with all the kids and families.
Can I get a woot woot for Santa and Mrs. Claus.
This is the first page I did. Santa coming off of the Coast Guard Helicopter. I even got a close up of him walking by. Okay that just sounded really paparazzi like.
This is Stinky on Santa's lap. Last year he would only sit with Mrs. Claus. I think he was scared of Santa's beard. In this picture Santa was showing him his cool SANTA belt buckle. This buckle put all other buckles out there to shame. I guess if your Santa you get the best of the best.
Thanks to my sister, brother-n-law and the Coast Guard for giving my family such a valuable memory!
For my digital scrapbooking community I used Deck the Halls by Connie Prince, which you can get here, and Inspiration Lanes monthly freebie Holiday Cheer. All you have to do is check out their blog here everyday and you get a sample of a cool kit. By the end of the month you get 2 whole free kits. AWESOME!!!
On another note... I am trying to get on the Designs by Brandy's Creative Team. So show a sister some love and wish me luck!
Thank you and good night!
They have blow up slides, crafts, face painting and food. All for free! But, the main attraction is Santa and Mrs. Claus being flown in on a Coast Guard Helicopter. How cool is that? Real cool! Beyond cool. Then Santa a Mrs. Claus sit and take pictures with all the kids and families.
Can I get a woot woot for Santa and Mrs. Claus.
This is the first page I did. Santa coming off of the Coast Guard Helicopter. I even got a close up of him walking by. Okay that just sounded really paparazzi like.
This is Stinky on Santa's lap. Last year he would only sit with Mrs. Claus. I think he was scared of Santa's beard. In this picture Santa was showing him his cool SANTA belt buckle. This buckle put all other buckles out there to shame. I guess if your Santa you get the best of the best.
Thanks to my sister, brother-n-law and the Coast Guard for giving my family such a valuable memory!
For my digital scrapbooking community I used Deck the Halls by Connie Prince, which you can get here, and Inspiration Lanes monthly freebie Holiday Cheer. All you have to do is check out their blog here everyday and you get a sample of a cool kit. By the end of the month you get 2 whole free kits. AWESOME!!!
On another note... I am trying to get on the Designs by Brandy's Creative Team. So show a sister some love and wish me luck!
Thank you and good night!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
I have a 12 year old.
About a month ago we had a Birthday party for Trev. He turned 12.
Twelve?
Twelve!
Where has the time gone? It seems like he just started kindergarten. Of course every mother says that.
This is a special mile stone for him. He is a "Tween". What ever that is suppose to mean. To me it means attitude, self discovery, stress, tears and a whole lot of patience. Lord PLEASE give me patience!
Here is an over the years spread I did.
It took a while since I didn't get a digital camera until he was almost 5 so I had a lot of scanning to do.
Hopefully my mom is not reading this because this is one of her Christmas presents.
Love you Mom!
Twelve?
Twelve!
Where has the time gone? It seems like he just started kindergarten. Of course every mother says that.
This is a special mile stone for him. He is a "Tween". What ever that is suppose to mean. To me it means attitude, self discovery, stress, tears and a whole lot of patience. Lord PLEASE give me patience!
Here is an over the years spread I did.
It took a while since I didn't get a digital camera until he was almost 5 so I had a lot of scanning to do.
Hopefully my mom is not reading this because this is one of her Christmas presents.
Love you Mom!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Coversation with a 5 year old boy
The other day Babe did work for one of our neighbors. He had some annoying trees dropping some annoying needles into his, I'm so jealous of your awesome pool, pool. He asked Babe to take car of them. Did I mention that parts of the 3 trees that were giving him problems were growing through his fence? Bad trees.
Anyway.......
Stinky and I came over several times to visit. He would ride his bike over, ten minutes later he was bored so he would ride his bike home. Then ten minutes later he would want to go see daddy again, so he would ride his scooter over, then ten minutes later he would get bored and we would go on. This went on the whole time Babe was working. One time Stinky decided to walk. As we are walking Stinky asked me what cincas meant. You see, every week at school Stinky learns how to say hello in a different language. Chinese, German, Spanish and even, my favorite, sign language. He knows alot about sign language. More on that in a later post.
Anyway, he asked me what cincas meant.
Stinky: Mom what does cincas mean.
Me: I don't know babe are you sure you are not trying to say cinco?
Stinky: No mommy cincas.
Wait for it.....
Me: I don't know. Do you want to ask Jose (Babe's employee that speaks spanish)
Stinky: No.
Me: I don't know what to tell you then.
Wait for it.....
Stinky: I think it means Ass.
Nice! Is that what they are teaching my pre-k'er at school.
Gotta love the conversations.
Anyway.......
Stinky and I came over several times to visit. He would ride his bike over, ten minutes later he was bored so he would ride his bike home. Then ten minutes later he would want to go see daddy again, so he would ride his scooter over, then ten minutes later he would get bored and we would go on. This went on the whole time Babe was working. One time Stinky decided to walk. As we are walking Stinky asked me what cincas meant. You see, every week at school Stinky learns how to say hello in a different language. Chinese, German, Spanish and even, my favorite, sign language. He knows alot about sign language. More on that in a later post.
Anyway, he asked me what cincas meant.
Stinky: Mom what does cincas mean.
Me: I don't know babe are you sure you are not trying to say cinco?
Stinky: No mommy cincas.
Wait for it.....
Me: I don't know. Do you want to ask Jose (Babe's employee that speaks spanish)
Stinky: No.
Me: I don't know what to tell you then.
Wait for it.....
Stinky: I think it means Ass.
Nice! Is that what they are teaching my pre-k'er at school.
Gotta love the conversations.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Stinky is skateboarding
Stinky has decided he is going to skate board. He got an old Hot Wheels skate board at a garage sale a few months back. Plus the fact that his big brother skate boards to is a big driving factor in this new venture of his. He is so cute to watch. He can only skate as long as there is nothing in his way because he has not learned to turn or stop yet. What he does is pushes off and when the he turns toward the grass he kicks the skate board up and jumps off. Then he tells you that he did a cool trick that is a name that he has heard from his brother.
This is the page I did of him.
Super cute I know.
The pictures of him with out his shirt on he says he is Bam Margera, because "Bam doesn't wear a shirt mom." Is that what it is. No shirt=famous skate board dude who picks relentlessly on his poor innocent, hell of a good sport, parents. I wonder if I could be famous for that too? I'm not sure many people would want to see me with my shirt off.
The kit I used is from Krystal Hartley and Tracie Stroud called Off Tha Chain. You can get it here. I also used Misty Cato's display frames. You can get those here.
Thank you and good night!
This is the page I did of him.
Super cute I know.
The pictures of him with out his shirt on he says he is Bam Margera, because "Bam doesn't wear a shirt mom." Is that what it is. No shirt=famous skate board dude who picks relentlessly on his poor innocent, hell of a good sport, parents. I wonder if I could be famous for that too? I'm not sure many people would want to see me with my shirt off.
The kit I used is from Krystal Hartley and Tracie Stroud called Off Tha Chain. You can get it here. I also used Misty Cato's display frames. You can get those here.
Thank you and good night!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
BBQ Pork Chops
Today I want to share with you a very easy recipe for pork chops. I found it at Crepesofwrath.net.
It is easy and yummy.
Prepare to drool.
BBQ Pork Chops
4 - 6 Pork Chops (I use boneless and thick cut)
1/2 a bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce
1/2 a bottle of your favorite Beer
1/2 an Onion (sliced thin)
McCormick Steak Seasoning
Heat a pan over medium high heat. Will the pan is heating sprinkle the pork chops with the steak seasoning. Once your pan is hot, place the pork chops in the pan. Brown them on the one side then flip them over and brown them on the other side. Your just browning the chops in this step not cooking them. Now remove the chops from the pan and set aside. Now pour 1/2 the beer in the pan. Take a wooden spoon and stir the beer around making sure that you get all the bits of goodness that stuck to the bottom of your pan when you browned the pork chops. Once that is done add the bbq sauce. Give it a good stir. Now put the chops back in the pan. At this point you want to turn the heat down to low so that you can simmer the chops. Top them with the onion and put the lid on. Walk away. It's that simple. You want to let them simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours depending on the thickness of the chops. After they simmer and are done I like to put them over a bed of rice.
Easy and stress free. That is how cooking should be.
Enjoy!
It is easy and yummy.
Prepare to drool.
BBQ Pork Chops
4 - 6 Pork Chops (I use boneless and thick cut)
1/2 a bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce
1/2 a bottle of your favorite Beer
1/2 an Onion (sliced thin)
McCormick Steak Seasoning
Heat a pan over medium high heat. Will the pan is heating sprinkle the pork chops with the steak seasoning. Once your pan is hot, place the pork chops in the pan. Brown them on the one side then flip them over and brown them on the other side. Your just browning the chops in this step not cooking them. Now remove the chops from the pan and set aside. Now pour 1/2 the beer in the pan. Take a wooden spoon and stir the beer around making sure that you get all the bits of goodness that stuck to the bottom of your pan when you browned the pork chops. Once that is done add the bbq sauce. Give it a good stir. Now put the chops back in the pan. At this point you want to turn the heat down to low so that you can simmer the chops. Top them with the onion and put the lid on. Walk away. It's that simple. You want to let them simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours depending on the thickness of the chops. After they simmer and are done I like to put them over a bed of rice.
Easy and stress free. That is how cooking should be.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Knock Out Tutorial
This week I stumbled upon a wonderful tutorial by Danielle Young over at danielleyoungdesigns.com. It is how to "knock out" a paper that you have layered on top of another paper so the bottom paper shows through in whatever shape you want.
I did this layout using the "knock out" tutorial. Which you can find here.
See the flowers going across the pink paper. It's like I cut them out using a paper punch. Cool, isn't it. I get so excited when I learn something new on Photoshop. It is pretty easy too. I did have trouble at first, but, I sent an email to Danielle and she figured out what I was doing wrong and told me the right way to do it.
The kit I used was called Love Abundantly from Sara Amarie over at SweetShoppeDesigns.com. Super cute!
Have fun.
I did this layout using the "knock out" tutorial. Which you can find here.
See the flowers going across the pink paper. It's like I cut them out using a paper punch. Cool, isn't it. I get so excited when I learn something new on Photoshop. It is pretty easy too. I did have trouble at first, but, I sent an email to Danielle and she figured out what I was doing wrong and told me the right way to do it.
The kit I used was called Love Abundantly from Sara Amarie over at SweetShoppeDesigns.com. Super cute!
Have fun.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Roman
My cousin's daughter Audri turned 1 recently. All the family gathered to celebrate this wonderful occasion. That means its picture time! I took a lot of pictures. Kids every where.
My cousin chose to do a lady bug theme and it was adorable. She made head bands look like antenna by using pipe cleaners and little fuzzy pom poms. I got a picture of almost every body wearing those. She also made a cute lady bug cake. (still scrapping that)
I got a picture of Roman. I don't get to see him very much since his mommy and daddy live about 45 minutes away:(
Here is his page.
Here is what I used:
A+ Designs "Butterfly Love Kit" for the blue paper
Jennifer Barrette's "One Word Says It All" for the "Adorable" wordart
Kim Desmet's "Together" for the stars and the letters
Erica Zanes "EZ Mask" for the photo mask.
My cousin chose to do a lady bug theme and it was adorable. She made head bands look like antenna by using pipe cleaners and little fuzzy pom poms. I got a picture of almost every body wearing those. She also made a cute lady bug cake. (still scrapping that)
I got a picture of Roman. I don't get to see him very much since his mommy and daddy live about 45 minutes away:(
Here is his page.
Here is what I used:
A+ Designs "Butterfly Love Kit" for the blue paper
Jennifer Barrette's "One Word Says It All" for the "Adorable" wordart
Kim Desmet's "Together" for the stars and the letters
Erica Zanes "EZ Mask" for the photo mask.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Love to Hate
This is Molly.
As you can see she is a Jack Russell Terrier. I love my Molly. She was the first dog I got when I started living on my own. She is loving, affectionate, hyper, spastic, smart and cute. I love Molly and at the same time I hate her. We have a funny kind of relationship like that.
I got her in 2001. Right before Halloween.
She has cost me thousands. You heard correct. THOUSANDS! She has a condition called HGE (Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis). This lovely little disease causes acute (sudden) onset of bloody diarrhea, usually explosive, accompanied by high packed cell volumes (red blood cells). Sounds fun doesn't it.
She got this the first time about three years ago. It was on a Sunday, when normal vets aren't open, of course. She was very withdrawn. I would try and get her to sit on my lap and she wouldn't. Totally uncharacteristic of Molly. Usually she is up in your face wanting all of your attention and then some. All she would do is lay in the back yard in a whole that she had dug several days earlier. So I watched her. She just laid there. Ten minutes went by and she finally got up. She walked about two feet from her whole and threw up. It was blood. I freaked out. I scooped her up in a towel and rushed her to a well known and advertised after hours emergency vet clinic. Costly mistake.
Once we got inside, the receptionist explained that she would take her back to the vet and see if she would need immediate attention or if I could sit and wait with her, in the waiting room, and then go back and see the vet. First come, first serve kind of thing. Needless to say they came back and said she was severely dehydrated and that they were hooking her up to an i.v. right away.
Okay, by this point I'm a little scared. Not only am I worried that my poor Molly is very sick. I am also starting to run numbers through my head. I.V. fluids $100.00. Vet looking at her $200.00 dollars. Weekend visit charge $150.00. At this rate I will have to sell one of my kidneys.
Half and hour later the vet comes in. She has to go through a long list of questions to try and figure out what is wrong with, sweet, starting to get very expensive, Molly.
Vet: Does she chew on toys?
Me: Dog toys?
Vet: Do you have kids?
Me: Yes.
Vet: Does she chew on your kids toys?
Me: No.
Vet: Did she get into anything that you know of?
Me: No. But she does love digging in the garbage.
Vet: Has she dug in the garbage lately?
Me: Sure. Everyday.
Vet: Was there anything in the garbage she could eat?
Me: Umm yes. Garbage.
This went on for a several more minutes. (agitation)
The vet then decides that she needs to run x-rays, to see if she swallowed anything and it got stuck. $. Plus it would be best to run some blood work. $$. I think you can see where this is going. I was then told that I could go home and that they would do what they needed to "fix" her. $$$. I left.
They called me later that day. She was getting better but would need to stay over night. At this point I begin to wonder when I should put my foot down and tell them no more treatment. It is too expensive. I love my Molly, but, she is a dog. I can't take out a 2nd mortgage on my home for a dog. Can I? After talking to babe that night we decided that we would pay this bill. Whatever it was. Babe insist that we will not pay anymore money out for her again. EVER!
So after a few more phone calls and 1 more day at the veterinarian, Molly comes home. The diagnosis is HGE. They don't know what causes it, but they do know that it is an overgrowth of bacteria. There is nothing to do to prevent it. Just keep her out of the garbage and feed her this really expensive food and she should be okay. She is weak. She is defeated. She is looking for more garbage to get into. I can not believe that she is still wanting garbage. She eats special food. Very expensive food, I might add, and she wants garbage. Time for the crate.
One months later.... SHE GETS IT AGAIN! Are you kidding me. This can't be happening. We can't afford to pay for her to be at the veterinarian again. I take her right away. This time I caught it early enough that she got medication and got to come home. $6oo dollars later. Babe really loves me. He wants to see me happy. God bless this man. Several times!
Okay, so she has had it twice in a 1 month period of time. No more. This is coming to an end. Babe has set his limit. "If she gets sick again, you have $100.00 to make her better, or the veterinarian can keep her!" Reasonable.
Three months later...SHE GETS IT AGAIN! Not surprising. Figures. I knew it was coming. This time I know that I can't help her. Babe has set a limit. $100.00. Where on earth can I take her to get fixed for $100.00. I start to cry. As much as this dog makes me crazy, I love her. She is my Molly. She makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon, but I can't live without my Molly.
I call the Feed Store. Maybe they have some over the counter thing that will make her better. Maybe they will know something. Anything. Please help me. The wonderful gentleman that answered the phone could hear the stress in my voice. He did not have a magic potion like I was hoping. He did have the name of a veterinarian that he used and trusted and most important of all was reasonably priced. I can see the light. It is dim but it is there.
Parkview Animal Hospital oh how I love thee. Polite, understanding, calming people you are. The tech that answered the phone listened to my long drawn out story of Molly and her HGE. I must have talked for a good ten minutes. He sat patiently. After I was done. He calmly said bring Molly in we will take care of her. Should be around $100.00, but I can't guarantee anything.
The light just got a little brighter.
I take her in. They look at her. The vet comes in. He looks at her.
Awesome Vet: "Sounds like HGE."
Me: "Okay?"
Awesome Vet: "We don't know what causes HGE, but we do know that it is an over growth of bacteria. So, let's give her something that will control the over growth of bacteria."
Me: "Huh."
Awesome Vet: "Control the bacteria. No more problems."
Me: "Can I kiss you?!"
Awesome Vet: "Just give this to her the first signs of trouble and she should be fine."
Me: "Seriously. Can I kiss you."
So leaving the most awesome Vets office in the whole wide world that day was, well, AWESOME.
My total bill, $93.00, including medications.
I have my Molly back. And it has been 3 years since having to take her back for anything HGE related. We will talk about her dew claws later.
As you can see she is a Jack Russell Terrier. I love my Molly. She was the first dog I got when I started living on my own. She is loving, affectionate, hyper, spastic, smart and cute. I love Molly and at the same time I hate her. We have a funny kind of relationship like that.
I got her in 2001. Right before Halloween.
She has cost me thousands. You heard correct. THOUSANDS! She has a condition called HGE (Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis). This lovely little disease causes acute (sudden) onset of bloody diarrhea, usually explosive, accompanied by high packed cell volumes (red blood cells). Sounds fun doesn't it.
She got this the first time about three years ago. It was on a Sunday, when normal vets aren't open, of course. She was very withdrawn. I would try and get her to sit on my lap and she wouldn't. Totally uncharacteristic of Molly. Usually she is up in your face wanting all of your attention and then some. All she would do is lay in the back yard in a whole that she had dug several days earlier. So I watched her. She just laid there. Ten minutes went by and she finally got up. She walked about two feet from her whole and threw up. It was blood. I freaked out. I scooped her up in a towel and rushed her to a well known and advertised after hours emergency vet clinic. Costly mistake.
Once we got inside, the receptionist explained that she would take her back to the vet and see if she would need immediate attention or if I could sit and wait with her, in the waiting room, and then go back and see the vet. First come, first serve kind of thing. Needless to say they came back and said she was severely dehydrated and that they were hooking her up to an i.v. right away.
Okay, by this point I'm a little scared. Not only am I worried that my poor Molly is very sick. I am also starting to run numbers through my head. I.V. fluids $100.00. Vet looking at her $200.00 dollars. Weekend visit charge $150.00. At this rate I will have to sell one of my kidneys.
Half and hour later the vet comes in. She has to go through a long list of questions to try and figure out what is wrong with, sweet, starting to get very expensive, Molly.
Vet: Does she chew on toys?
Me: Dog toys?
Vet: Do you have kids?
Me: Yes.
Vet: Does she chew on your kids toys?
Me: No.
Vet: Did she get into anything that you know of?
Me: No. But she does love digging in the garbage.
Vet: Has she dug in the garbage lately?
Me: Sure. Everyday.
Vet: Was there anything in the garbage she could eat?
Me: Umm yes. Garbage.
This went on for a several more minutes. (agitation)
The vet then decides that she needs to run x-rays, to see if she swallowed anything and it got stuck. $. Plus it would be best to run some blood work. $$. I think you can see where this is going. I was then told that I could go home and that they would do what they needed to "fix" her. $$$. I left.
They called me later that day. She was getting better but would need to stay over night. At this point I begin to wonder when I should put my foot down and tell them no more treatment. It is too expensive. I love my Molly, but, she is a dog. I can't take out a 2nd mortgage on my home for a dog. Can I? After talking to babe that night we decided that we would pay this bill. Whatever it was. Babe insist that we will not pay anymore money out for her again. EVER!
So after a few more phone calls and 1 more day at the veterinarian, Molly comes home. The diagnosis is HGE. They don't know what causes it, but they do know that it is an overgrowth of bacteria. There is nothing to do to prevent it. Just keep her out of the garbage and feed her this really expensive food and she should be okay. She is weak. She is defeated. She is looking for more garbage to get into. I can not believe that she is still wanting garbage. She eats special food. Very expensive food, I might add, and she wants garbage. Time for the crate.
One months later.... SHE GETS IT AGAIN! Are you kidding me. This can't be happening. We can't afford to pay for her to be at the veterinarian again. I take her right away. This time I caught it early enough that she got medication and got to come home. $6oo dollars later. Babe really loves me. He wants to see me happy. God bless this man. Several times!
Okay, so she has had it twice in a 1 month period of time. No more. This is coming to an end. Babe has set his limit. "If she gets sick again, you have $100.00 to make her better, or the veterinarian can keep her!" Reasonable.
Three months later...SHE GETS IT AGAIN! Not surprising. Figures. I knew it was coming. This time I know that I can't help her. Babe has set a limit. $100.00. Where on earth can I take her to get fixed for $100.00. I start to cry. As much as this dog makes me crazy, I love her. She is my Molly. She makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon, but I can't live without my Molly.
I call the Feed Store. Maybe they have some over the counter thing that will make her better. Maybe they will know something. Anything. Please help me. The wonderful gentleman that answered the phone could hear the stress in my voice. He did not have a magic potion like I was hoping. He did have the name of a veterinarian that he used and trusted and most important of all was reasonably priced. I can see the light. It is dim but it is there.
Parkview Animal Hospital oh how I love thee. Polite, understanding, calming people you are. The tech that answered the phone listened to my long drawn out story of Molly and her HGE. I must have talked for a good ten minutes. He sat patiently. After I was done. He calmly said bring Molly in we will take care of her. Should be around $100.00, but I can't guarantee anything.
The light just got a little brighter.
I take her in. They look at her. The vet comes in. He looks at her.
Awesome Vet: "Sounds like HGE."
Me: "Okay?"
Awesome Vet: "We don't know what causes HGE, but we do know that it is an over growth of bacteria. So, let's give her something that will control the over growth of bacteria."
Me: "Huh."
Awesome Vet: "Control the bacteria. No more problems."
Me: "Can I kiss you?!"
Awesome Vet: "Just give this to her the first signs of trouble and she should be fine."
Me: "Seriously. Can I kiss you."
So leaving the most awesome Vets office in the whole wide world that day was, well, AWESOME.
My total bill, $93.00, including medications.
I have my Molly back. And it has been 3 years since having to take her back for anything HGE related. We will talk about her dew claws later.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
First day of school
First day of school for the boys was exciting. 
Let’s start with
Trev
Trev is starting middle school.
All in all the first day was good. Watching my wonderful boys go off into the world with the knowledge that Babe and I have given them was very satisfying. I know they will do well. I am proud.
Now I will spend the rest of my day wondering what to do with myself.
Maybe I should just curl back up into my little ball and wait for school to get out.
On a scrapbooking note... I used Brandy Designs kit called A Class Act. You can pick it up here. I also used Traci Reed's Bad Sewing Machine III which you can get here and Erica Zane's Border Dates, which I can't remember where I got it from. Sorry. Oh yeah, one more I used Julie Marie easy photo mask and got that here.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Addiction
Lately Babe has been working very crazy hours. He gets up at 6:45am to leave for work and does not get home until 10pm. This leaves me with a lot of "me time" on my hands after the kiddos go to sleep. Not to mention that summer television is lacking to say the least.
What does one do with a lot of me time?
I'll tell you want I do with all of my me time. I scrapbook.
Digital scrapbooking is my new addiction.
I started about 9 months ago, when my friend gave me Photoshop. (Thanks Luke) At that time I didn't do very much because I didn't understand the program. Instead I did a lot of internet searches. I looked at every possible website I could find that had anything to do with digital scrapbooking and photoshop. Tutorials are my friend.
Here I am going to plug a few of my favorite. I look at many more sites but if I listed them all it would take me 2 day, 3 hours, and 41 seconds.
2 Peas in a Pod - great for digital and paper scrapbooking plus lots of free kits. When you go on this site choose the digital kits section. Once there sort by price. Low to high. All the freebies with come up.
Designer Digitals - they have freebies every Sunday and .25 deals
Oscraps - great challenges and really cool tutorials that are for the "little bit better than a beginner" scrapper.
Elemental Scraps - this one has a great gallery and awesome kits at a really good price.
{we are} storytellers - I love the artistic feel of this site. The layouts are breath taking. I think you can tell what your in for just by the unique and very fitting name.
With all of these sites make sure you register yourself and go to the blog, to receive all of the cool benefits they have to offer.
I will be posting some of the pages I have been doing.
What does one do with a lot of me time?
I'll tell you want I do with all of my me time. I scrapbook.
Digital scrapbooking is my new addiction.
I started about 9 months ago, when my friend gave me Photoshop. (Thanks Luke) At that time I didn't do very much because I didn't understand the program. Instead I did a lot of internet searches. I looked at every possible website I could find that had anything to do with digital scrapbooking and photoshop. Tutorials are my friend.
Here I am going to plug a few of my favorite. I look at many more sites but if I listed them all it would take me 2 day, 3 hours, and 41 seconds.
2 Peas in a Pod - great for digital and paper scrapbooking plus lots of free kits. When you go on this site choose the digital kits section. Once there sort by price. Low to high. All the freebies with come up.
Designer Digitals - they have freebies every Sunday and .25 deals
Oscraps - great challenges and really cool tutorials that are for the "little bit better than a beginner" scrapper.
Elemental Scraps - this one has a great gallery and awesome kits at a really good price.
{we are} storytellers - I love the artistic feel of this site. The layouts are breath taking. I think you can tell what your in for just by the unique and very fitting name.
With all of these sites make sure you register yourself and go to the blog, to receive all of the cool benefits they have to offer.
I will be posting some of the pages I have been doing.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Easy Chicken Enchiladas
I love cooking, but some days I am looking for something easy to make. This recipe is not only easy, it is yummy.
Let's get started.
Here are the 5 ingredents you will need. Yes you heard correct. Only 5 ingredients.
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 tablespoon Chili Powder
1 14.5 can of tomato sauce
Soft taco shells or tortillas
Sharp cheddar cheese
First you need to boil the chicken breast. I put the chicken in a medium size pot and add enough water to just cover it. Boil until no longer pink in the middle.
Maybe it's just me, but boiled chicken just looks gross.
Shred the chicken. I like to use two forks. Better yet, I like to make Babe do it.
Now lets make the enchilada sauce. Take your can of tomato sauce and mix it with 1 tablespoon of chili powder.
I like to mix it right in the can. One less dish I have to wash later.
Now take some of the enchilada sauce and mix it in with your shredded chicken. Just enough to coat it. Reserve the rest of the enchilada sauce. We will give it a great home later.
Now take one of your tortilla or soft taco shells and fill it with some of the shredded chicken mixture. This part you have to guesstimate. We are making enchiladas, not burritos, so don't use to much.
Roll the tortilla over. No need to fold in the ends.
Repeat until you fill a pan. When you place them in the pan make sure to put them seam side down. That way you don't have to worry about them unrolling. I am using a 13 x 9 Pampered Chef Rectangular Baker dish. Only $38.50 and worth every penny. Did you like my plug. I would not talk about this pan if I was not super in love with it.
Moving forward.
Now pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas. It has found its home.
Spread the sauce all over. You don't want to leave any enchiladas out of being coated. That would just be unfair.
Sprinkle with cheese. I know I told you sharp cheddar, but I didn't have enough so I had to mix mozzarella with cheddar. I used 2% milk cheese too. My cholesterol could use the help.
Bake in a 350 degree oven until cheese is melted. Babe likes the cheese to be a little brown and crispy. Gotta please the husband. The choice is yours.
Mmmmm. Chicken Enchiladas with a dollop of low fat, cholesterol loving, sour cream.
This recipe has been brought to you by Elaine. My wonderful, awesome of a cook, mother n law.
Enjoy.
Let's get started.
Here are the 5 ingredents you will need. Yes you heard correct. Only 5 ingredients.
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 tablespoon Chili Powder
1 14.5 can of tomato sauce
Soft taco shells or tortillas
Sharp cheddar cheese
First you need to boil the chicken breast. I put the chicken in a medium size pot and add enough water to just cover it. Boil until no longer pink in the middle.
Maybe it's just me, but boiled chicken just looks gross.
Shred the chicken. I like to use two forks. Better yet, I like to make Babe do it.
Now lets make the enchilada sauce. Take your can of tomato sauce and mix it with 1 tablespoon of chili powder.
I like to mix it right in the can. One less dish I have to wash later.
Now take some of the enchilada sauce and mix it in with your shredded chicken. Just enough to coat it. Reserve the rest of the enchilada sauce. We will give it a great home later.
Now take one of your tortilla or soft taco shells and fill it with some of the shredded chicken mixture. This part you have to guesstimate. We are making enchiladas, not burritos, so don't use to much.
Roll the tortilla over. No need to fold in the ends.
Repeat until you fill a pan. When you place them in the pan make sure to put them seam side down. That way you don't have to worry about them unrolling. I am using a 13 x 9 Pampered Chef Rectangular Baker dish. Only $38.50 and worth every penny. Did you like my plug. I would not talk about this pan if I was not super in love with it.
Moving forward.
Now pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas. It has found its home.
Spread the sauce all over. You don't want to leave any enchiladas out of being coated. That would just be unfair.
Sprinkle with cheese. I know I told you sharp cheddar, but I didn't have enough so I had to mix mozzarella with cheddar. I used 2% milk cheese too. My cholesterol could use the help.
Bake in a 350 degree oven until cheese is melted. Babe likes the cheese to be a little brown and crispy. Gotta please the husband. The choice is yours.
Mmmmm. Chicken Enchiladas with a dollop of low fat, cholesterol loving, sour cream.
This recipe has been brought to you by Elaine. My wonderful, awesome of a cook, mother n law.
Enjoy.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Gardening with a brown tumb
This year the family has decided to start a garden. By family I mean me.
I enlisted the handy skills that Babe poses to build a "raised bed". This is no ordinary raised bed. I have dogs. Two of them. Molly loves to dig. Rock loves to copy Molly. Therefor I had to have Babe build the box 3 feet or so off the ground.
This is what it looks like.
It wasn't very hard to make. We used some left over scaffolding we had on the side of the house. Building things, when you have power tools, is just down right fun. Babe used a air powered hammer thingy. Can you say "Manly Man". We made 2 boxes to start. They measured 1 foot by 1 foot by 8 feet. I didn't want to overwhelm myself with the task of 4 beds. That way if everything dies I won't feel like a real loser. Just a regular loser.
This is what we have so far.
Babe has taken up a little hobby of his own. Growing palm trees. I know this isn't technically in the garden box, but the pot it is in is in the box. Cut me some slack.
These are the mammoth sunflowers, again not actually planted in the garden box. I grew these from seeds. Cool isn't it.
Zucchini. From a plant I got at Home Depot. I'm sure you have seen them. Bonnie plants. They are in a biodegradable pot that you can put right in the ground. All you have to do is break the bottom up so the roots can spread.
This is my cucumber plant. I grew this from a seed too.
I'm so impressed with my self. I have never had luck with plants. My mom got me a Bromeliade one time. I killed it. Then she got me this vine with real pretty yellow flowers on it. You guessed it, I killed that too.
I will be posting more pictures as my beauties get bigger and start producing.
Adios for now my Internet family.
I enlisted the handy skills that Babe poses to build a "raised bed". This is no ordinary raised bed. I have dogs. Two of them. Molly loves to dig. Rock loves to copy Molly. Therefor I had to have Babe build the box 3 feet or so off the ground.
This is what it looks like.
It wasn't very hard to make. We used some left over scaffolding we had on the side of the house. Building things, when you have power tools, is just down right fun. Babe used a air powered hammer thingy. Can you say "Manly Man". We made 2 boxes to start. They measured 1 foot by 1 foot by 8 feet. I didn't want to overwhelm myself with the task of 4 beds. That way if everything dies I won't feel like a real loser. Just a regular loser.
This is what we have so far.
Babe has taken up a little hobby of his own. Growing palm trees. I know this isn't technically in the garden box, but the pot it is in is in the box. Cut me some slack.
These are the mammoth sunflowers, again not actually planted in the garden box. I grew these from seeds. Cool isn't it.
Zucchini. From a plant I got at Home Depot. I'm sure you have seen them. Bonnie plants. They are in a biodegradable pot that you can put right in the ground. All you have to do is break the bottom up so the roots can spread.
This is my cucumber plant. I grew this from a seed too.
I'm so impressed with my self. I have never had luck with plants. My mom got me a Bromeliade one time. I killed it. Then she got me this vine with real pretty yellow flowers on it. You guessed it, I killed that too.
I will be posting more pictures as my beauties get bigger and start producing.
Adios for now my Internet family.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Fighting the Fight
I love taking pictures. Babe says I'm obsessed. I say I'm passionate.
This is a picture I took of my littlest sister Shannon. I love this picture. The shadows. The little smiles peeking through.
Shannon is hiding something. Can you tell what it is?
In 2003 I got married. I had the big church wedding. Four bridesmaids, five groomsmen, flowers, flower girl, ring bearers. The whole 9 yards. During this time Shannon was not feeling well. She came to me and asked if I would talk to "Doc" (my step dad) about some of the symptoms she had been dealing with for a little while now. Doc is a retired Chiropractic and Shannon thought that the weakness and numbness in her legs might be something a chiropractor could fix. So I called "Doc". Shannon had no pain with any of her symptoms. Just a lot of weakness. "Doc" said that he didn't feel that what she was experiencing was something chiropractics would be able the help with.
My wedding went on as planned.
After I got back from my honeymoon all the videos and photos started pouring in. Photos from the professional photographer. Photos from family and friends. My wedding video. So Babe and I sat down one night and looked at all the photos and watched our wedding video. As I watched us light the unity candle, say our vows, kiss and be pronounced husband and wife I was thrilled. We finally got married and I had it all on video to prove it. Then as James Brown's "I feel good" played Babe and I walked out arm and arm, then the wedding party. Nicole and Jon, Ashley and Dean, Shannon and BJ. I looked a Babe.
"Did you notice that?"
"I think so. Rewind it"
I did. I watched my baby sister walk down the isle clutching the groomsmen's arm we had matched her with. I mean really clutching it. With ever step she trembled. She was holding on to him with all of her might.
I called Shannon. I asked he how she was feeling. She said the same. She was lying. She was using the walls in her house to support her while walking. She was weak. She had more numbness. She was even needed a wheel chair some days.
I called my mom. (Shannon and I have different moms) We talked about what I had just seen. What my conversation with my baby sister was. My mom is a nurse. Has been for 25 plus years. She told me to call her and tell her to go to the emergency room. My mom said it sounded like a neurological problem.
After a few phone conversations she went to All Children's Hospital.
A bunch of test were ran and after about 5 days of blood work, cat scans, and MRI's, we heard the news.
Shannon was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I cried.
Multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by the disease.
This information is from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Here is the link.
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx
You can read more about the disease, find ways to get involved or donate through the website.
Help educate people about this disease. Donate to help the research efforts. Volunteer.
This is a picture I took of my littlest sister Shannon. I love this picture. The shadows. The little smiles peeking through.
Shannon is hiding something. Can you tell what it is?
In 2003 I got married. I had the big church wedding. Four bridesmaids, five groomsmen, flowers, flower girl, ring bearers. The whole 9 yards. During this time Shannon was not feeling well. She came to me and asked if I would talk to "Doc" (my step dad) about some of the symptoms she had been dealing with for a little while now. Doc is a retired Chiropractic and Shannon thought that the weakness and numbness in her legs might be something a chiropractor could fix. So I called "Doc". Shannon had no pain with any of her symptoms. Just a lot of weakness. "Doc" said that he didn't feel that what she was experiencing was something chiropractics would be able the help with.
My wedding went on as planned.
After I got back from my honeymoon all the videos and photos started pouring in. Photos from the professional photographer. Photos from family and friends. My wedding video. So Babe and I sat down one night and looked at all the photos and watched our wedding video. As I watched us light the unity candle, say our vows, kiss and be pronounced husband and wife I was thrilled. We finally got married and I had it all on video to prove it. Then as James Brown's "I feel good" played Babe and I walked out arm and arm, then the wedding party. Nicole and Jon, Ashley and Dean, Shannon and BJ. I looked a Babe.
"Did you notice that?"
"I think so. Rewind it"
I did. I watched my baby sister walk down the isle clutching the groomsmen's arm we had matched her with. I mean really clutching it. With ever step she trembled. She was holding on to him with all of her might.
I called Shannon. I asked he how she was feeling. She said the same. She was lying. She was using the walls in her house to support her while walking. She was weak. She had more numbness. She was even needed a wheel chair some days.
I called my mom. (Shannon and I have different moms) We talked about what I had just seen. What my conversation with my baby sister was. My mom is a nurse. Has been for 25 plus years. She told me to call her and tell her to go to the emergency room. My mom said it sounded like a neurological problem.
After a few phone conversations she went to All Children's Hospital.
A bunch of test were ran and after about 5 days of blood work, cat scans, and MRI's, we heard the news.
Shannon was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I cried.
Multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by the disease.
This information is from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Here is the link.
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx
You can read more about the disease, find ways to get involved or donate through the website.
Help educate people about this disease. Donate to help the research efforts. Volunteer.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Blueberry Picking
Saturday we decided to go Organic Blueberry picking. For those of you who have never seen a blueberry before its home became a plastic pint carton, here they are.
I had never seen a blueberry on a bush before until this trip. As you can see they are beautiful. I guess the trip from the blueberry farm, to the packaging plant, to the grocery store is a rough one. The blueberries we got look 100% better then the ones in the store, not surprisingly so.
This is Stinky. He had such a blast picking. He loves blueberries. One in the bucket, one in his mouth. I love how he turned his hat around so he could see.
Stinky keep telling me to take a picture. He would pick a blueberry and say "Mom, take a picture!" Then he would pick another one, "Mom, take my picture!"
Then another.
And another. At least this one Babe got to be in. Who, might I add, had a blast as well. We all had so much fun that we picked 8 1/2 pounds of these voluptuous purple beauties. Three pounds are going to family. The other 5 1/2 pounds will be baked, frozen or just eaten raw.
I had never seen a blueberry on a bush before until this trip. As you can see they are beautiful. I guess the trip from the blueberry farm, to the packaging plant, to the grocery store is a rough one. The blueberries we got look 100% better then the ones in the store, not surprisingly so.
This is Stinky. He had such a blast picking. He loves blueberries. One in the bucket, one in his mouth. I love how he turned his hat around so he could see.
Stinky keep telling me to take a picture. He would pick a blueberry and say "Mom, take a picture!" Then he would pick another one, "Mom, take my picture!"
Then another.
And another. At least this one Babe got to be in. Who, might I add, had a blast as well. We all had so much fun that we picked 8 1/2 pounds of these voluptuous purple beauties. Three pounds are going to family. The other 5 1/2 pounds will be baked, frozen or just eaten raw.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
An Introduction
This is my dog Rock. As you can see he is very very cute. The kind of cute that makes you want to squeeze him until his head pops off. Not literally of course. He will be 2 in July.
Let me back up and tell you the story of a man named Ted. Okay, not so funny. Got it. Two years ago when Stinky, my youngest turned 2 my maternal clock started ticking again. Babe, my husband, did not want to have anymore kids. So I came to the conclusion that if I couldn't have anymore kids that I would need another dog. Babe did not want that either. I guess Babe realized that it is much cheaper getting a dog then having another kid. So I laid it out like this. Another dog or the next year of your life with be filled with misery and suffering. He knows I can make that happen. So he caved. Sort of. Okay, he didn't. I went behind his back. Go ahead judge me. Tell me how awful of a wife I am and that couples should be a team and make all the decisions together...blah, blah, blah. I normally am a team player in this marriage. However the loudness of the ticking from my "maternal clock" in my body was so loud it made me temporarily insane.
This is Rock then. He was a little bit smaller. I took stinky with me to a breeder that I found in the paper. Very nice lady. She had 3 boxers herself and did not plan on breeding, but her oldest male, who she thought was too old, mated with her youngest. I don't need to go into any further detail as to what happened next. Do I? Rock was the 1st of 9. He was born on July 22nd. As you can see he is all white. More about white boxers at a later time.
I did not tell Trev or Babe about rock until the day I picked him up. I picked up Trev from school and told him I had to drop off some money at a customers house. We went inside and he looked at me and said "Cool mom, this lady has boxers." It still had not dawned on him that we were there to pick up our boxer. The boxer lady handed me the papers and I gave them to Trev. He opened them up and saw my name on them. Then it clicked. The look on his face was priceless.
The car ride home was a nerve racking one. I had to figure out a way to tell Babe so that he would not pack up all of my cloths and throw them in the yard. So I decided on a poem. I don't remember what the poem said. It was really cute though. Pointless, but cute. I never used it. Instead I sent him a text with a picture that said "Daddy please love me". It worked. Almost 2 years later, Rock is now officially Babe's dog.
Let me back up and tell you the story of a man named Ted. Okay, not so funny. Got it. Two years ago when Stinky, my youngest turned 2 my maternal clock started ticking again. Babe, my husband, did not want to have anymore kids. So I came to the conclusion that if I couldn't have anymore kids that I would need another dog. Babe did not want that either. I guess Babe realized that it is much cheaper getting a dog then having another kid. So I laid it out like this. Another dog or the next year of your life with be filled with misery and suffering. He knows I can make that happen. So he caved. Sort of. Okay, he didn't. I went behind his back. Go ahead judge me. Tell me how awful of a wife I am and that couples should be a team and make all the decisions together...blah, blah, blah. I normally am a team player in this marriage. However the loudness of the ticking from my "maternal clock" in my body was so loud it made me temporarily insane.
This is Rock then. He was a little bit smaller. I took stinky with me to a breeder that I found in the paper. Very nice lady. She had 3 boxers herself and did not plan on breeding, but her oldest male, who she thought was too old, mated with her youngest. I don't need to go into any further detail as to what happened next. Do I? Rock was the 1st of 9. He was born on July 22nd. As you can see he is all white. More about white boxers at a later time.
I did not tell Trev or Babe about rock until the day I picked him up. I picked up Trev from school and told him I had to drop off some money at a customers house. We went inside and he looked at me and said "Cool mom, this lady has boxers." It still had not dawned on him that we were there to pick up our boxer. The boxer lady handed me the papers and I gave them to Trev. He opened them up and saw my name on them. Then it clicked. The look on his face was priceless.
The car ride home was a nerve racking one. I had to figure out a way to tell Babe so that he would not pack up all of my cloths and throw them in the yard. So I decided on a poem. I don't remember what the poem said. It was really cute though. Pointless, but cute. I never used it. Instead I sent him a text with a picture that said "Daddy please love me". It worked. Almost 2 years later, Rock is now officially Babe's dog.
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