All Dressed Up

When I went by my mom's yesterday to refill her medication, I told her that I would come by on Christmas Eve and pick her up for church. We talked about what day it was and when Christmas Eve was and some doctor appointments that are coming up on her calendar. She has decided that she doesn't want to use her day by day calendar anymore - so I truly have no idea how she keeps up with what day it is - actually, I do know - she just doesn't keep up - as was evidenced by the phone call I got this evening. About 7:45pm tonight she called and wondered when I was going to pick her up for church - she thought it was tonight and told me she had gotten all dressed up and was waiting for me. God Bless Her! It's enough to make me want to cry. But I'm not going to - at least not tonight - going to go to bed (and B - I never made it out to run my errands - sat on the couch and watched TV instead!). Goodnight.

A Few Old Stories...

So before Thanksgiving - I went to Las Vegas to see Kris play in a softball tournament - where her team won the tourney - the hard way :) - and she was selected for the All Tourney Team - or something like that - a very cool thing! Now, remember, this was Before Thanksgiving - we are landing in Las Vegas and as we are flying over this neighborhood near the airport - there was an entire part of it that had massive Christmas decorations and lights on display - that is WAY too early!

So on the trip home - we are waiting in the airport for the plane and we hear this clicking noise - we look over and this woman is clipping her toenails there in the waiting area - Disgusting! Ick!

A few more stories... The puppets performed in church recently - and I wish I could have seen the kids - I hear they were just enthralled by it all - a shout out to my puppeteers! Great Job! There were three of us in the back and when we finished and were waiting for the best time to walk out - I told them thanks and that it went really well and Lynne says "Yeah - and they (the congregation) laughed at all the appropriate times!" And one of my favorite comments from people was - we never saw you go to the back of the stage or leave - pay no attention to the man (or in this case three of us) behind the curtain!

A few Saturdays ago, Terrie and I were doing arts and crafts in the choir room and the kids for the Christmas pageant started showing up for their dress rehearsal. One of the little boys (probably about 3 or 4) was standing near me when his mom took out his shepherd costume to show him and he got this great big smile on his face and said "I'm going to be a handsome shepherd" and indeed he was!

Last week, I broke down and bought Sadie this play ball that has holes in it with feathers in the middle and rope covering the outside and figured I would wrap it up for Christmas - yeah - I got it home and couldn't wait to give it to her - of course when I dropped it on the floor for her to play with - she was only interested in the cardboard tag that had the price on it! Should have known.

Enough for now - have some Christmas presents to attend to... Happy couple of days before Christmas!

Surprise!

Not that anyone is reading anymore - but in case you are - here are two Luke stories and a Sadie story...

My dad came to town last night and had dinner with me and John and his family. Well, Luke, the 4 year old was telling us about where Santa and the elves live - "Did you know that there is this white mountain next to the desert and that is the North Pole." He later stated that "Chris (the 16 year old) said he wants to be just like me." Out of the mouth of babes... or in this case... one rowdy little kid.

It was a nice evening - I had a good time at the end of the table chatting with Chris and Emilie (13 years old). And it was, of course, really nice to see my dad - he stayed with me - so my house got a quick cleaning - before the major cleaning that will have to take place before my Aunt comes a week from Saturday.

And now for the Sadie story... When my dad got up and left - I decided I would head out to the gym - and when I got home - I looked and looked for Sadie - couldn't find her in any of her usual spots - the quilt, the afghan, the window seat... so I'm standing between the living room and dining room and say out loud - "Where are you baby doll?" and she answered with a little murmer - she was in the cat tree! She was probably watching me the whole time I was looking around.

Enough for now - must get ready for work.

1\2 a Bag of Cookies

Had an unfortunate incident with 1/2 a bag of cookies last night. Was watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" - the original cartoon - and it just reminded me of being a kid and my mom and how she just isn't how she was. So I sat and cried and ate 1/2 a bag of cookies - I probably had a good 15 - 20 points worth - even found the Gideon's Bible in the nightstand of my hotel room and looked up passages of when you are filled with sorrow and something else I can't quite remember right now - but wrote down a couple of passages I found helpful. The hotel also had a Book of Morman in it - the only other time I've found something other than the Bible in a hotel room was in Hawaii and there was a Book of Buddism. Fascinating. I was staying in La Jolla - near the LDS Temple - I figure that's why it had the Book of Morman. Anyway - enough rambling for now - one of these days I might even spend a little time and tell a couple of stories from Las Vegas - but for now - this is it.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

Happy Day After Thanksgiving wishes! Am in Big Bear today - where it has been COLD! Wanted to wish everyone a nice holiday weekend - and at this time of year when we remember what we are thankful for - I just want to say that I'm thankful for each and every one of you! I am tremendously blessed to have the support and friendship of all of you! Have a wonderful rest of your weekend and God Bless All of You!

Sure Feels Like Winter To Me

A few random thoughts...

So I'm driving home the other night - from somewhere - and I'm on Moulton - stopped at the light at Aliso Viejo Parkway (I think that's the name) - and I look up on the hill toward Aliso Viejo - and I can't believe it... someone already has Christmas lights up - in the shape of a Christmas Tree - don't they know the rules - nothing until after Thanksgiving - can't we get through one holiday first?!

While I've been listening to the radio this week - the Mammoth Mountain ads have amused me - all about winter and the snow pack and opening the ski slopes - yeah - and it's been in the 80's the last couple of days - sure feels like winter to me!

One more gripe - so my favorite flavor at Bath and Body is Freesia - or course now it's called Sheer Freesia - anywho - I've been out of the body spray for a while and am almost out of the lotion - so I stopped in a Bath and Body yesterday to purchase more spray - only to find out that since it is a 'classic' scent - it's only available in January and June. When they discountinued it for a while several years back everyone in the stores I talked to said it was so popular - so they brought it back - with a new name - and now it's only available twice a year - what is up with that - so I'm sorry to say - you'll have to excuse me if I stink between now and January. :)

One last thought - thanks for the continued prayers for the music ministry - choir practice with the first candidate tonight went well. But am looking forward to it all being over.

A Bowl of Cereal

So about a week ago I picked up some mail from my mom and in the stack was an invitation to attend an orientation meeting for CalOptima - which is the public agency that governs Medi-Cal in Orange County. The invitation said the meeting was for tomorrow (Thursday) at 10am - so I called to make sure that I could attend for my mom and sign up. The woman told me that the meeting wasn't on Thursday, but on Tuesday at 1pm - I kept telling her that the info I had said Thursday - I explained I was coming in for my mom - the whole bit - she insisted that Tuesday was the last meeting I could attend for the year. Ok... so I show up yesterday - I check in on one floor - then send me to a second floor and then when the woman starts the presentation she wants to make sure there isn't anyone with medicare in the room - I'm the only one that raises a hand - so I get sent back downstairs again - and when I get downstairs - I see the board that says the medicare meeting is - believe it or not - Thursday at 10am - what a shock! At this point I figure I'm going to have to come back - but at least I haven't missed it. Oh no - my customer service experiences must be looking up - they showed me to a conference room and when they came back in - I asked if I was there on the wrong day - they told me not to worry about it - that they would take care of explaining everything to me so I wouldn't have to come back - I almost fell out of my chair from shock! They took an hour and a half to explain it all and answer my questions one on one! WOW! Prayer does work :) and God is definitely good - all the time!

So last night on my way home from work, I called my mom just to see how she was doing and she said she was making dinner - so to make conversation, I asked her what she was having and she told me - a bowl of cereal. So I asked her what else - and she said that was it. So I told her - as she used to tell me as a kid - that she couldn't just have a bowl of cereal - she had to have some protein also - so she needed to have a scoop of peanut butter or half a peanut butter sandwich - and all the while I thought - I HAVE become my mother! I wasn't completely convinced when I hung up the phone that she was going to actually have more than cereal - but when I got home there was a message from her - she said that she broke down and took a TV dinner out to have for dinner! God Bless Her!

All About Celebrations

So a few things tonight...

One thing that I wanted to talk about - on Sunday, the choir stood up by the alter to sing the Navy Hymn during the offertory and I wasn't too sure about doing it - hadn't been feeling well on Thursday night and just wasn't convinced about it all - but what a moving experience to be able to look out and share it with the service people in the congregation - some of which were singing along. I spoke to one service person later in the day and he said it was a very moving experience for him also since he was in the Navy and it brought back so many memories. On this day that we observe the Veteran's - God Bless Them and those still serving.

One more Weight Watcher's story - when you go to the meetings - at least for the first 10 weeks, you get a little pamphlet about a different subject - sometimes it's motivational, sometimes it different tips or recipes or exercises. Well, I finally took a look at the one that I received on Saturday - and it was all about Celebrations! In big bold letters in the inside it says "These celebrations are important, because celebration helps with inspiration" - yeah, whatever! I will get my celebration - it won't be until December when I get back to my regular meeting - but I will get my celebration. Of course I have a bit of a celebration to recognize this evening - checked my account and they have finally charged my credit card and I'm good for another month. Yippee!

And finally - I don't usually do prayer requests on the blog - but I know I've done at least one or two previously - please pray for the music ministry at Shepherd - we are starting the process of interviewing candidates for the director position - and I know for at least me - I'm still struggling with the devestation of the summer. So if you would just keep the entire situation in your prayers, that would be lovely - because God it good - all the time.

You Can't Sleep Either

Just a quick post tonight - didn't sleep much at all last night so am tired - hopefully that will help tonight! Back to last night - so I'm laying in bed - not sleeping and I hear this weird heavy breathing and I'm trying to figure out where it's coming from - and then I realize that the cat - who sleeps on the bed - is asleep and she is the one doing all the heavy breathing (just like me when I sleep - or so I've been told). All I could think was - oh no - if I'm not able to sleep, then you can't sleep either. So I promptly woke her up - I had to wake her several times - she can sleep all day if she wants - so if I'm going to be up at night - then so is she. God Bless Her!

Long Tomorrow

Wow - it's been a long tomorrow! So the puppet festival was fun - Lynne and I have decided that we are going to quit everything and go into puppet ministry full time! We had the opportunity to watch various puppet skits, go to workshops and do a bit of shopping also - so one of these days we will get our act together and start something at Shepherd - but want to make sure we do it right!
So let's see - what has happened since I last posted... was the vicitm of credit card fraud - which has led to a nightmare experience with Weight Watcher's online customer service (or lack there of) - was thrown out of Coldstone Creamery - and then lied to by their manager - and have had several bad experiences at restaurants... I told my supervisor it was her fault because I was put on a special project at work to put together something about customer service and when she sent the email to the group to introduce me - she called me the 'customer service expert' - at least now I have lots of stories to tell on what not to do!
And Weight Watchers - frustrating - it's a long story - but suffice it to say that I was cancelled from the program because I had to close my credit card account and when they tried to charge - I didn't have the new one yet - so this morning - I went to what might be my last meeting - and I had reached my 10% goal - have lost 22 pounds overall (yeah for me). And of course to add insult to injury - the woman that weighed me in - either didn't know or didn't think about recognizing me in the meeting for reaching that goal - figures - what a way to end a bit of a crappy week! In hindsight - I should have stood up in the meeting and just said that I wanted a pat on the back - at least I had two of my peeps there to celebrate with me. Stewed a bit about it on the way to my next event of the day - went ot South County Outreach to sort and put away food that is given out to the homeless. Went with one of the women's groups from church - and what a surprise to see the youth group from our church there also! It was a lot of fun - and truly made me forget all my frustration with WW and the meeting.
In the afternoon I had the opportunity to lay down for a few minutes and little miss Sadie kitty came up on the couch and cuddled next to me - we had a nice afternoon catnap. And then this evening was the Family Fun Night at church - and it is so much fun to get together with all of the kids. There was one little girl - maybe two or three - that was following me after Cal and I played our guitars and sang and I kneeled down to talk to her and she just walked up and gave me a big hug - what a sweetheart - and just what I needed. God is good.

Always Park Under a Light

Just got back from the first evening of the Puppet Festival - and what fun it was - Lynne and I are ready to start this ministry! Can't wait to go back tomorrow for a full day of the Festival! More about it tomorrow because it's late and I need to get to bed - but do have to share one story...
When I was a kid, my mom told me that when I park my car at night to always park under a light - so knowing that Lynne would be dropping me back at my car in the Auto Club parking lot after dark, I moved my car at lunch so it would be under a light. Of course when we got back to my car - it was parked under the only light in the parking lot that wasn't working! So much for that theory!

Cancelled

We cancelled the Fall Festival today. Made the decision that we the air quality just wasn't very good for an outdoor event. And you would think that I would be relieved - it has been a thorn in my side for months now. Many sleepless nights I've spent wondering how it was all going to get done and thinking about what still needed to be done. But this week - the puzzle pieces were starting to fit and I was finally feeling pretty good about it all - so believe it or not - it was hard to come to that decision. And even harder to notify all those involved of the decision. As I emailed our team and thanked them for all their hard work - I cried - go figure. Of course, now I'll lay awake wondering if we made the right decsion.

An Eerie Orange Color

What a difference a day makes - I've been documenting how the fire has progressed and how much of it I can see when driving over La Paz - tonight I couldn't even see the moutain through all the smoke. And the moon - as it was rising - an eerie orange color! And the smoke - you just can't escape it - it was very noticeable in the building at work today. And dang it - I wanted to work out tonight - even had my gym clothes on - but just wasn't feeling like I should with all the smoke in the air.
On a different note - I went into the bank to deposit some checks today - I like to go into the bank rather than use the ATM - although after today - I might start using the ATM. The teller was nice enough in the beginning - and then it must have popped up on her computer to offer me the credit card - so she did and I politely told her no - and she started to describe some of the features and I told her no again - and she continued and I said no a third time and started to walk away and she was still trying to sell me on it! I wanted to scream at her - What part of NO don't you understand! I understand they have goals on that stuff - our consultants at work have similar types of goals - but when I say no - I mean no. Anyway... enough for tonight - I'm tired and I'm going to bed.

The Whole Thing

And I thought the view going over La Paz yesterday was scary - there was so much more fire to see tonight. There was a spot in Aliso Viejo where we could see all of it also - just surreal - the whole thing. Got an even closer look at Brandy's - here is a picture she took from her backyard.

Had lunch with Dustin today - he and his family and fiancee are all doing fine - and their houses were all saved - so thanks for the prayers.

Going to keep it short tonight since I've taken 2 benadryl tablets in hopes that the runny nose and sneezing that I've been doing all day will stop long enough for me to get to sleep - and before I'm completly put to sleep by them - I have to make my bed. So goodnight for now.

Two Days in a Row

Check it out - two days in a row! Pretty cool, huh?! Not much going on today - except - can you believe the wind and the heat and the fires! I talked about my friend Dustin yesterday - he didn't make it to work today - apparently, the first time they evacuated, they went to another part of Ramona - were evacuated again and went down to Poway - and today were evacuated a third time. So I spent a good chunk of the day at work praying for him - don't know if he will be back tomorrow or not.
So when I got home today - I turned the TV on and of course all there is to watch is news about the fires - I turned on CNN for a moment and learned that San Diego is East of Lake Arrowhead - nobody told me it had been moved! Do these people not pull out a map?!
And then when I was driving to a church meeting - I was going over the hill on La Paz and could see the fire over in Foothill Ranch - it made it so real. Scary. I could see it from the parking lot of the gym also. God Bless and Help all those affected by the fires all throughout Southern California!

New Best Friend

What a good weekend - a little busier than I sometimes like - but a good weekend anyway. Started on Friday night with a fabulous dinner and shopping adventure! Continued on Saturday with weigh in early - have lost 16 pounds overall! Breakfast was nice - went to visit my mom - and although she wasn't in a very good mood - got past that. Then I spent the day doing laundry, dishes and cleaning clutter - and I feel very good about it. A shout out to my Saturday evening group - what a great meal, wonderful lemon pie and good, honest conversation. What a blessing!
This morning started EARLY! 5am early! Went to the CHOC Walk around the Disney Resort (B - I hope you are feeling better). And had a nice time catching up with some college friends - one of which I hadn't seen in several years. It was a bit windy out though - nothing like all sorts of dust and debris in your face - and tonight my allergies are on the attack. Lunch afterwards was fun also - and one of the kids of my married with children friends took quite the liking to me. Which is rather funny since she has always been afraid of me - I even made her cry at her first birthday party just by looking at her - it became quite the joke! But today she was my new best friend and followed me around the restaurant, wanted to sit next to me and even gave me a big kiss before she had to leave. She was quite the sweetheart!
Was trying to get a nap in before our women's retreat reunion - but wasn't really able to. That was nice also to get together again - and I had the opportunity to wear my new skirt that I got on sale at Macy's a couple of weeks ago - and I looked cute - or at least that is what several others told me! Then last but not least - went over to watch the Red Sox game with my friend Ron - who happens to be from Boston - and they are now off to the World Series.
Last but not least - a prayer request - I was supposed to get together with both Ron and Dustin - but Dustin had to help his parents and his fiancee and her parents evacuate out of the Ramona area because of the fires - please keep them all in your prayers.
Enough for tonight - my goal this week is to blog every night - will try - but make no promises.

They Were the Lightest

Goodness - it's been a week - but give me a break... I had jars to make for our Family Fun Night, I took my mom out for her birthday (more on that in a moment), we had a fabulous Family Fun Night at church - I went to a wonderful wedding, taught a class at church, watched the Colorado Rockies win the NL Pennant (that's what it's called, right?), and had to go movie hopping - "We Own the Night" and "Michael Clayton" - I'd recommend both. Phew...
So I thought I'd better catch up - went to the gym tonight with Craig - and we worked on cardio, biceps, triceps, shoulders and abs, oh my! And yes, I will be sore tomorrow - but it was nice to learn how to use some of the machines. Saw eminem again - he didn't have as much bling as last time - but had his cap on. And when we were in the weight room - there was some annoying guy lifting and being all loud - we finally just left. Great workout though - which is good because it has been a tough week in controlling the food intake.
So my mom... it was her birthday on Saturday, so I took her out shopping and back to my place for lunch. I wanted to get her new shoes - so we went to pick some out and she wanted light shoes - she picked them all up and them picked them up again and decided on a particular pair with velcro. And you would think - what a great idea - velcro would be so easy to use. The problem - it's a new concept for her and she had a little trouble figuring out how to use it - so I'm not sure exactly how the shoes will work out for her - but I saw my brother today and he said when he picked her up to spend Sunday with her all she could talk about were her new shoes and how she choose them because they were the lightest! God Bless Her!

Good Times at the Gym

Wednesday morning, I finally made it to the gym early - got there about 6:20am - and wasn't too bad early - meant to get up early this morning and go again - but couldn't get to sleep last night until about 3am - so when the alarm went off at 5:45am - all I could think of was - I could sleep one more hour - so I did.
And it's a good thing that I did - I would have missed all the freaks at the gym tonight after choir! I did a little more looking around and Craig was right - it is filled with the pumped up boys on the 'roids! The best though was Emenim. It wasn't THE Emenim - but this kid could have been his double - and he had his knit stocking cap on and all his bling - gold chains and rings! The best was when he almost fell off the elliptical trying to get on - and then had to hold on for dear life! He did much better on the treadmill. And this one chick that got on to the elliptical next to him - have never seen anyone workout that seductively in my life! Good times at the gym tonight! And I didn't even have to work extra hard during my cool off to burn 350 calories! And best of all - it just felt good.

New Obsession

I know, I know, it's been awhile! Hope you didn't give up on me just yet. So what's been going on - Sunday - hit the jackpot shopping. Kris and I went shopping for a wedding this weekend - where our friend, I'm sure, will be the second most beautiful woman there (behind the bride, of course)! We ended up at Macy's and got some amazing customer service - apparently that's all I get - is one good customer service experience for the week - have had some pretty lousy service since then. Anyway - back to the shopping - in the end - we both found new outfits to wear - and I think everything we got was on sale. I ended up with a new dress for the wedding, a cute casual skirt and a new suit. And best of all - the dress for the wedding - originally 159.99 - marked down to 19.97! Can't beat that - the shoes I bought for the outfit cost more than the dress! And B - I ended up buying the wallet we saw a couple of weeks ago. Kris got some amazing deals also. So it was a good day.
Hadn't talked to my mom in a couple of days - so called her tonight and she seems to have a new obsession - the TV. Yes, she had complaints about the TV again - tonight she wanted to know what I did to the TV last time I was there since she can't get all of the shows she used to watch and all that seems to be on now are ads. Bummer. Didn't know exactly what to tell her - although at least I don't hear so much about the tooth anymore! God Bless Her.

Christmas Music

I went into Michael's today to pick up some craft stuff and they were playing Christmas music! May I just say... UNACCEPTABLE! It practically drove me crazy - of course, it would be a short trip - I'm almost there as it is! When I went up to the cashier and asked her how she was doing with the music, she said they just started it and someone had already left a note in one of the baskets that said "HELP October 5 is NOT Christmas!" Apparently, I'm not the only one that has issues with it! I literally could not get out of the store fast enough. On the mom front - went by today - had to bring her the calendar back! Was in a better frame of mind to deal with her. When I got there, she wasn't in her apartment, but came in a few minutes later - so when she asked me 3 times how long I'd been there - I just laughed it off. God Bless Her!

Mom and the TV

I know it's probably been the longest time between posts! Last week was just... tough - and this week has been busy. I do have a couple of mom stories though. So the remote for my mom's TV stopped working about a week or so ago and originally she told me she threw it out (I'm not sure what's up with her obsession of throwing things out) - then she told me she had it - so when I went to pick it up, she kept complaining that her TV didn't work. So I took a look at it and she said she needed a new one because the people are all red. Apparently, she must have been hitting the menu button on the TV and changing the color and tint! So I fixed that. So today I went to give her the remote back (it just needed new batteries) and this time she told me the TV didn't have any sound - well, it helps if you turn the volume up! God Bless Her! And of course, it's October 2 and I should have given her the daily calendar back - but forgot it! Oh well, she thought it was Wednesday anyway.

Doesn't Seem So Bad So Far

Yesterday... was a tough day. And I must have known how bad it was going to get when I saw the teddy bear in the convenience store at work. I saw it on break and just picked him up and had to hold him - I knew I had gift certificates in my desk, so I went looking for them - found a $5 certificate and a $6 certificate - just enough. When I went back to buy him and gave the woman behind the counter the gift certificates, she got the calculator out - it was hard to keep from laughing out loud. I did have a good meeting with my new supervisor - I am blessed to work for her and it looks like there may be some exciting projects coming up next year. I know - doesn't seem so bad so far - and at that point it wasn't.
Then I left to pick up my mom for a doctor's appointment. When I got to her place, she wasn't there - so I went down to the lobby to look for her since I know she likes to go down and chat with the ladies. As I was walking down the hall - there she was and as I walked into the room, the other ladies greeted me - but I got the sense that my mom didn't recognize me - and it wasn't until I walked up to her, touched her on the shoulder and asked her if she was ready to go that she even responded at all. I tried to put it out of my mind for the moment - I had to get her to the doctor. The appointment went fine - it wasn't until after I got home and had the chance to just stop that I just lost my mind. And as much as I just wanted to lay on the bed and never leave - I gathered myself up and headed out to Bible Study (I even ended up going to the gym after Bible study). And did ok until I was in the parking lot afterwards with my peeps and just had to tell them. Thank you - each and every one of you - for the love and support and the prayer out there in the parking lot. And B, thanks for being there for me after my workout (and thanks for checking on me this morning). I am blessed to have such a wonderful support group of friends - I couldn't do it without you (and I know that I will never have to do it alone).
So on to today... today has been a tough day as well - have just been struggling - I just can't get it out of my mind. I was thinking earlier that at least I haven't had to teach this week - but sometimes that is better - takes my mind off things. And luckily I have the support of some wonderful friends at work - and a new boss who went through this with her mom also. Anyway... instead of eating my way through my kitchen (I have a tendency to eat when I'm stressed) - I'm going to go to bed. God Bless all my friends!

Torment the Cat

After a lousy day at work it was nice to get together with friends for dinner. And at dinner we all had a balloon animal made for us - I had a dragonfly made - and when it was done - thought - what a great way to torment the cat! You have to understand - she wanted me up at 6am this morning for breakfast - when I opened my eyes this morning - I found her sitting there staring at me - and when I rolled over - she climbed over to the other side so she could see stare at me some more! So I brought my dragonfly home thinking that she doesn't like regular balloons - this should be fun to see what happens with a balloon shape - she thought it was a toy - and then wanted to play. Yeah, not quite what I was expecting. Here's a picture of the event - because of the lighting she looks cross eyed! And at dinner - although I was good and had a salad - I couldn't resist a milkshake - it's dairy!

So You Know You Are Old When

Just got back from another great workout! I hadn't planned on working out today - was going to take today and tomorrow off. And then go on Wednesday since Bible study lets out early and I knew I would be going to Chick-Fil-A that day. Well, my Wednesday lunch buddy had to reschedule and we went today instead - and unfortunately, I can only use the extra points I get for working out on the day I work out. So that meant after the original chicken sandwich and french fries for lunch - I needed to go today. Even with the big point lunch - I watched what I ate for breakfast and dinner and decided that instead of doing a tough workout, I'd take it a little easy today - yeah, right! My friend, Dustin, said that he finds working out addicting and he now goes 5 days a week - I'm finding it to be the same way. I couldn't just take it easy - in fact during the cool off phase - I even worked a little harder to burn 350 calories exactly - crazy! But it just felt so good - of course, working out does produce endorphins and endorphins make people happy (and happy people just don't kill their husbands - I know at least one of you can name that movie!). It reminded me of when I was on the track team in college (believe it or not!) and I would get home from a workout and I would just feel good all evening. I wish that I were more of a morning person and could get up early and workout - but I know that I'm not. Anyway - I'm going to go treat myself to a cup of fair trade hot cocoa and General Hospital.
Oh I almost forgot to add that I've set a goal for myself - to purchase a nice suit or dress to wear for Christmas - we are having a Family Ministries Dinner Event on December 8th (everyone is invited) and we are thinking of having a nice dress up dinner - so that's what I want - is to be able to buy something nice (in a smaller size :) !).
One more thing - so you know you are old when you hear K-EARTH 101 playing songs from your own childhood on the radio!

As I Affectionately Call It, "Dumpy"

Went to the gym tonight - I have a 24 Hour Fitness membership - although, unlike their name, they aren't all open 24 hours. The one I like to go to on La Paz has limited hours on the weekend - although is open 24 hours during the week. They call it one of their "Active" gyms (rather than calling it classic or old or as I affectionately call it, "dumpy"). They also have "Sport" - which I can go to and then "Super Sport" and "Ultra Sport" and "Out of this World Sport" - or something like that - I can't get into any of those. So tonight, since I went around 9pm - I couldn't go to my favorite one (they close at 9pm and open Monday morning at 4am - UGH!) - I had to travel up to the Irvine Spectrum one (not the knew one inside the Spectrum - that's one of the fancy shmancy ones I can't go to) - but there is one across from Irvine Meadows that has the distinction of being the Irvine Spectrum one - at least according to their website. Speaking of Irvine Meadows (yes, I know it has a different name now - and has for a long time) - I heard Def Leppard from the parking lot - they were playing tonight. Anywho - back to the gym... So I go to the Irvine Spectrum one because it's a Sport one and is open 24 hours even on the weekend - two things that bugged me - 1. it stank - I know it's a gym - but I don't remember the "dumpy" one smelling so much like sweat - probably because no one goes there! And 2. they had old precor machines - I was disappointed. I wasn't very impressed at all (kinda' like the webkins - hee... hee... hee...). Anyway - will have to go earlier on Sundays so I can go to the little one around the corner. At least it was a good workout - didn't have the problem I had last week of getting part way into the workout and thinking I was going to die! Felt good tonight.

October 2

Had to take away my mom's daily calendar again last night - she thought it was Tuesday, October 2! God Bless Her. Unfortunately, I got a little more frustrated with her than I intended - which left me feeling lousy even though I'm sure she doesn't remember any of it today.

On a brighter note - lost 4 pounds - even though I had a pretty tough beginning of the week. Which is promising since I stopped counting points tonight at dinner! After a great breakfast and fabulous day (I got to see a bunch of my favorite people today) - I had dinner with some church friends and had one of the best cakes I've ever had! Not sure what all was in it - but I think it was chocolate cake and there were peanuts and toffee and very yummy frosting - this was after the steak and corn casserole and beans and bread and salad. Yummy! Will have to visit the gym tomorrow and think I'll try another new recipe. Enough for now - must go to bed!

Albino Schoolbus

I just had to comment on two things I saw today...

1. An Albino Schoolbus - that's right - I looked over and saw what looked like a schoolbus - but different - it was white - not traditional yellow - but was still a schoolbus - who knew?!

2. If you have to tilt your head to the side because you can't see over the steering wheel - your car is TOO BIG! This little old woman was behind me at a light and she literally couldn't see over the steering wheel - scary!

And on the WW front - two 29 point days in a row! Who would have thought!

No More BBQ's!

Today was another tough points day - I stopped counting after I put lunch into the computer... had another BBQ - this one at work - did better than last night - but still didn't fair all that well. At least I only had a 6 point dinner - although I had some fruit that I think costs a point or two. I also stir fryed zucchini with the Melting Pot seasoning and it was YUMMY! Must get to the store for more vegetables! Hopefully the rest of the week will be a little better - no more BBQ's!
So yesterday I promised a mom story. I went by on Friday morning before work because I knew that she should be out of medication. I get there and she still has Thursday left - that's because she thought that day WAS Thursday. God Bless Her. So while I'm there she told me about how she needed a new broom and mop - no she just needed a broom (at first, she couldn't decide). And that her neighbor stole her broom and took it off her balcony. I looked at the balconies (she's on the third floor) and it's not likely that her neighbor crawled over to get it. Not really sure what would have happened to the broom, but I got to hear several times Friday morning about how she needed a new broom and her neighbor took hers. So I called her today to check on her and she, of course, had forgotten about the broom - but now she needs batteries for her TV remote - they're the long ones!

Falling Off The Wagon

Nothing like falling off the wagon on the second day - and I thought 21.5 point breakfast was bad - how 'bout 40 point dinner?! Yeah - ended up with a 56 point day - but I was telling some friends at dinner tonight - and like my friend B said (and by the way - B-squared is a good nickname) - don't let one bad day get you down - besides - I still have 5 days until I weigh in! I also played softball and swam laps today so I got extra activity points. And I had a fantastic day doing it all. Church was good - we went off site to worship and I enjoyed the first BBQ of my day. Tried to be relatively good since I knew I was going to another BBQ where I probably wouldn't be so good. We had a fun game of softball as well - although I'm sure I will be terribly sore tomorrow - geez am I out of shape. Then I headed over to my next event - the Chargers/Patriots game - interspersed with the Yankees/Red Sox game. And we had a really good time - had some really good food - although I just feel like I ate too much. Kate told us we shouldn't feel stuffed - and that's how I feel and I just don't like it - will have to remember this tomorrow when I attend my 3rd BBQ in two days - we are having an offsite team building day at work and lunch is going to be a BBQ - at least I know that I have a 6 point dinner waiting for me at the end of the day!
So I have to write about the 3 point brownies - all of a sudden my life has become entirely about points! When I was making the brownies - one of the things the cookbook said was to line the pan with foil and then spray with nonstick spray - I never line anything - except my cake pans - and I don't own any non stick spray. But I thought - hey it's a WW cookbook - maybe there will be fewer calories if I line it with foil - I seriously doubted it - but it was a good thought anyway. So I kinda' liked the foil thing - made for easy clean up of the pan - wish I had sprayed it though - I hate to waste any brownie that is stuck to the foil! My biggest complaint though is that it said to cut them into 16 squares and each square would be 3 points - which is what I did - but I swear the brownies in the book looked larger than my little squares... maybe because I had brownie stuck to the foil - will have to remedy that next time. And they turned out really good! If I don't blow so many points at lunch tomorrow - I'll have to have a brownie and milk with dinner - mmmmm. Stay tuned tomorrow for another wonderful account of points and I have a mom story to tell!

6 Points

Today I joined Weight Watchers - decided I just didn't have the will power to go it alone. So this morning at breakfast I decided to go out with a bang - didn't realized until after the meeting just what a bang it was! I weighed in - not going to post that - sorry, kids - and my friend and I stayed for the meeting and the intro afterwards. The woman that ran the meeting was really nice - and during the intro after the meeting she was telling us to go through our pantry and fridge and look at the food and read the labels - that there might be food we want to throw out. Yeah - I was afraid of that - so last night - I sat and ate an entire carton of Ben and Jerry's ice cream - didn't want it to go to waste!
When I got home - I did just as Kate said and went through my pantry and calculated the points everything would be. I was very distressed to find out that one serving of my beloved peanut butter is 5 points (that's 2 Tblspns). I went shopping today and bought the reduced fat peanut butter thinking that would be better - it's still 4 points - and I don't think the savings on 1 point is worth it - have you ever tried it - doesn't spread at all! I also found the 1 point bread at Costco - so I have a loaf to eat now and a loaf in the freezer. I know - for those of you that don't know anything about WW - this probably doesn't make a lot of sense - but based on my weight and other factors, I have 29 points each day for food. Which brings me to the next part of my story... the points.
So I have 29 points and the cool thing about the WW is being able to track your food online and having the computer figure out all the points for you. So I entered what I had for breakfast this morning - 21.5 points! I couldn't believe it! What was I thinking? That left just 7.5 points for the rest of the day (not counting the 35 flex points for the week- just in case you can't make it during the day with your allotment - which I almost had to use today). So I was sitting at the compter this early afternoon checking things out on the WW website and trying to figure out what I was going to have for dinner with so few points left. And I was just getting hungry - but I hadn't been shopping yet and didn't really have much to eat in the house - thank goodness for carrots! They're 0 points. Went shopping - stocked up on fruits and veggies and whole wheat pasta and the ingredients for my 6 point dinner. That's right - 6 points for chicken and rice and a cucumber and orange salad (see the picture above). When I saw the picture in the cookbook, I thought it looked pretty good - although when I read the ingredients of the salad - I wasn't too sure. Cucumber, orange slices, red bell pepper and black olives in an orange/lime/garlic marinade. It was YUMMY! I made enough for dinner on Monday - can't wait.
I also made 3 point per serving brownies for a BBQ that I'm going to tomorrow evening. Made them from scratch - which I very rarely do. I might have to make more to freeze and bring out every once in a while. I haven't tried them yet (didn't have enough points left in the day - dang it) - although I did lick the batter off the wisk when I was done mixing them - I decided there shouldn't be any points for that - that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Ended Up In The Wrong Place

Has been a little longer than I expected since my last post - but have been teaching this week (for the first time in several weeks) and with some of the other things that I've been doing - have just been really tired. Am surprised I lasted this long tonight - but couldn't go another day without posting for my fans! Went to an AA meeting the other night - that would be Alzheimer's Association - at UC Irvine - and you would think that being an alumni (or alumnus - was never the best in English) I would be able to navigate around the campus - not to mention the fact that I teach people how to read maps and give street directions for a living. Well, I didn't turn when I was supposed to and ended up in the wrong place! And I seem to do that every time I enter from University - you'd think I would have figured it out by now - but then again - I am my mother's daughter. And in my defense - the campus looks NOTHING like it did when I was going to school there. No worries, though, I made it just in time.
Anyway - it's a little later than I wanted to stay up - so am going to go to bed now - have to get up early and stop by my mom's - I realized that I need to refill her medication in the morning - so I just might have a mom story for tomorrow - have called her a couple of time this week - but haven't seen her. Good night and Pleasant Dreams.
PS -B- I started making up dialog - it IS fun!

Nice And Loud

A week ago at Sunday worship, Aaron told the congregation that he had made worship CD's and that he would be giving them out after service and we could take one and listen to it in our cars and sing nice and loud - although people might look at us funny. Yeah - like people don't already look at me funny! So I got one of the CD's and have been listening to it and I just love to sing in the car - nice and loud. On Saturday night - I was driving home with the windows open - listening to one of my favorite songs on the CD which I know cuts off a bit abruptly at the end. The last verse is "I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross" - well, I'm singing - nice and loud - and the song cuts off after the word "that" - so here I am in my car singing "cross" rather loudly without any music - it was pretty funny - probably loses quite a bit in translation - but I certainly enjoyed it - and that's all that mattered!
This morning I went to purchase tickets at the OC Performing Arts Center and was driving down Ave of the Arts thinking I could turn left in one spot - well, they've added a traffic circle in that spot - so I make my way around the circle only to find out that - nope - can't make a left - so I got to ride it all the way around and then some - thought about driving it a few more times just for the thrill - but was late for work - maybe next time!

It Was Amazing!

Planned on going to bed early tonight - yeah - oh well. Had to take a moment to write about the weekend. It was Women of Faith weekend and what a wonderful time we all had - and such good seats! It was Amazing! The whole weekend - from the Friday preconference - to Luci Swindoll - it truly was amazing! I laughed - I cried (there's a surprise) and just enjoyed the fellowship with all of my friends - you all are the best! And remember - Show Up, Shut Up and Let Go! Amen.

Poverty Level Program

So this morning when I went down to Social Services - I was prepared. I'd put together some more paperwork that I thought I would need, I brought my book, my IPOD and water - didn't want to be sitting around for "a couple of hours" with nothing to do. As it turns out - I only waited about an hour before I was called back for the interview. And it was a good thing I didn't get interviewed yesterday - I wouldn't have had all the info that I needed. In fact, the case worker complimented me on having all the appropriate documentation - she said it is very rare that someone comes in with everything they need. Since I was so prepared - she was able to get approval on the spot. So my mom was approved for Medi-Cal - and I'm still not sure exactly sure what that means - I did understand some of what the woman was telling me - but apparently a more permanent case worker will be assigned and I need to address my questions to that person - so we will see what happens.
Of course, I get into my car and take a look at the paperwork and it just made me cry... "Your application for the Aged and Disabled Federal Poverty Level Program has been approved." It just breaks my heart to think that my mom qualifies for a poverty level program - she was a college educated elementary school teacher - who then worked her way up at the Broadway when I was growing up - who raised two kids as a single mom and always gave to the church - what happened. I think I just feel bad that I can't do more. I know what you are thinking - that I shouldn't beat myself up about this - but I owe her EVERYTHING. Anyway - I'm doing the best I can and I know that she appreciates it - she told me today. God Bless Her!

And It Was Just That...

A quick posting tonight - must get to bed so I can get up early again tomorrow morning and spend - what I think will be most of the day at social services - what fun for a vacation day. Went out tonight with my buddies Dustin and Ron and we had a wonderful evening - they are both such good guys and fun to hang out with - we went to see "Superbad" and it was just that... super bad. We went to the Irvine Spectrum and I realized once I got down there that I had left the paperwork I need for tomorrow at work - I had brought it in to see what other papers I might need to bring with me tomorrow. So after the movie - I had the treat - yeah, that's it - to drive back up to Costa Mesa. Here's hoping tomorrow will be a better day!

A Couple Of Hours

So I get to the Social Services office this morning about 7:15am - expecting it to be like the DMV... people lined up around the building. To my pleasant surprise - there isn't even anyone parked in visitor parking and only one other couple in the office when I get inside. So I explain that I'm not sure what I'm doing - I'm trying to get some information and the woman explains the she will "try" to get a supervisor to come out and talk with me. How nice. So I wait 15 minutes - and a very nice woman comes out and gives me some information - some of which I swear was Greek - but she encourages me to apply to see what my mom qualifies for. So I go back to the window - get the paperwork - fill it out - not too bad so far - take it back to the window and she says that I now need to wait for the interview. Ok - I ask about how long that will be and she says "a couple of hours". I would have loved to have seen the expression on my face at that point - because all I can think is "you have got to be f***ing kidding me - what on earth are they doing with the paperwork that takes 'a couple of hours'?!" I wasn't quite prepared for that... so I ask her what happens if I can't stay. And she tells me that I would need to come back and reapply on another day - but will still have to wait the couple of hours. Lovely - my tax dollars at work! So - I left - went to the car and cried. I just was not prepared to spend that much time in their office watching their version of the food channel - I didn't have a book to read, I didn't bring my IPOD and I didn't have my phone to call work and let them know that I would be even later than I originally thought - because 'a couple of hours' to me, translates to 'most of the day'! So I guess I'll take a vacation day tomorrow and try it all over again! Yippee...

The PT Cruiser or the Prius

A shout out to my dinner buddies this evening! And a Big Thanks for inviting me - I had the treat of having dinner with a bunch of friends at Fudruckers and arrive in style in a 1950's Woody! They also had a car show going on at Fudrucker's and it was hard to tell which was my favorite, the Rolls Royce, the '57 Chevy, the Corvette's, or maybe it was the PT Cruiser or the Prius with the lighting painted on it! Yeah - not too sure what the big deal was with the last two - but there they were! It was a wonderful evening and it even cooled down - wish I could say the same about my condo.

Enough for tonight - I have to get up early and go by the social services department to see what I can find out about Medi-Cal for my mom - that should be fun!

You Know Who He Is?

So here is a picture from my dad's house in Big Bear a couple of weeks ago - the house is for sale - any interested buyers?! I also meant to comment on the drive home from Big Bear - as I was driving along the toll road - all of the rain must have cleared out any smog or haze because I had a beautiful view of Catalina Island.

So last week I was having lunch with my friends Ron and Dustin and I admitted to them that I had started watching General Hospital - which they, of course, had to mock me for - I told them that I started watching again because Rick Springfield is on the show again and Ron joked about him being 90 years old by now and Dustin said "You know who he is?" God Bless young Dustin! So B - we'll have to get together and discuss the show now that I have a better understanding of who the characters are - the other B can join us also... hee... hee... hee...

One more unrelated story - so I figured out the phone problem with my mom - why she kept putting the handset on the phone wrong. When she was having phone problems a while back, I replaced her phone with mine to make sure it wasn't a phone problem. And when we got everything fixed, I gave her the choice to keep my phone or take hers back - she choose my phone. Well, I pulled her phone out to use the other day and realized that the handset on her phone sits different from mine - and that is the way she kept trying to put the handset back - needless to say - I swaped the phones out!

2002 - What A Good Year!

I know... it's been a while! :) I just had to take a moment and comment on two things...

1. What is up with the heat! I drove by a place with the temperature showing today and it said 112! Ugh! I feel like I'm back in the San Gabriel Valley! I did break down and turn on the air conditioning, though - it was 90 inside my condo! Which still smells like charcoal after my neighbor BBQ'd last night - ick. Anyway... and...

2. I had a blast tonight! Got together with some friends for dinner, a little music and lots of laughter! My sides still hurt from laughing - and I can't type this without chuckling about the evening. And remember... 2002 - what a good year! God Bless You All!

It's Only Funny...

My goodness is it warm out today - I might have to break down and turn on the air conditioner! So I received a Thank You card the other day - and I of course have to display it for a bit - so I had it sitting on my kitchen bar. Well, I have salt and pepper shakers that look like sheep and I didn't know what to do with them - so I put them in front of the card. But then I had a dilemma - now I couldn't see all of the writing on the card. But as I looked a little closer - I could still see Thank - but the one sheep was covering you - so now it looked like Thank Ewe... hee, hee, hee!
I have another funny - but my puppet buddy may be the only one that gets it... So I was looking at some puppet message boards this morning and one of them had as a tag line... "It's only funny until someone gets a rod in the eye!" I just laughed out loud. If you don't get it - you'll just have to join the puppet ministry when we get it started at the church!

Happy Rock

Greetings from Big Bear Lake! Am up for the weekend and we just had a wonderful mountain rain storm! I remember these from when I lived up here - a little bit of hail - but mainly lots of heavy rain - it was wonderful! Of course, I had left the windows open in my car so had to run out in the rain and close them - still - it was wonderful. And then the power went out for a while - obviously it's back on.
So I had to tell about something I saw in a store this morning. My dad and I went wandering around the Village just to check out things and in this one store - they were selling rocks with "Happy Rock" written on them for $5! And it wasn't even written very well - obviously being manufactured by someone not versed in the wonderful world of crafts - Lynne, are you available for lessons?! Unbelievable! Who buys that stuff? I guess the Pet Rock is back!

He'll Have To Fight Me For It

Went to see my mom this evening. Figured I would stop by and check on her medication before I go away for the weekend. She did much better this week than last week - I actually had to refill it! It's good days like today, though, that are going to make it hard for me to move her. She talked about how much she likes it where she is, she has so many friends - and can even remember the names of some of them - and she just loves her little apartment. I know I need to move her - but on days like today - I just want to let her be.
She invited me to sit down and rock for a bit - so I sat down in her favorite rocking chair and she told me that my Aunt Kay gave her the rocker when John was born - and she told me to make sure he gets it some day - I looked at her and told her that it might not make it over to his house - I have many fond memories of her rocking me in the chair as a child - it's really the only piece of furniture I want when she is gone - he'll have to fight me for it.
So we were just chatting and I mentioned that we had choir practice starting again next week - and she said that it must be hard to start again - remembering what I had told her about Ron and Kelly. It just seem so odd to me - the things she remembers, she told me five times that she went to the store today, four times that she was going to do laundry tomorrow and had to ask me twice where I was going for the weekend - but she remembered something I told her the last time I saw her - maybe because it was so heart wrenching - and I was crying at the time. I don't know - I just don't know.

Yeah - Whatever...

So I finally got my act together this evening and took care of some computer stuff and email stuff that needed to be done. Usually when I'm sitting at the computer, the cat will come over and lay on the corner of the bed next to me. Well, tonight, she had made an appearance early on while I was working and then disappeared. I decided as I was finishing up that I wanted to see her - so I start calling her and patting my hand on the side of the bed - I keep calling and patting my hand and finally turn around to see if she is even making her way over. Nope... she's laying right outside the bedroom door looking at me like "Yeah - whatever... you expect me to get up, jump up on the bed and cater to your every whim?!" Again - people that don't have cats have no idea how much personality they really have. She, of course, couldn't stay away and within a few minutes was up on the bed rubbing against me - what a love!

Single!

Went to Disneyland last Friday night with Kris, Russ and Deanna and Teyo, Lannie and Leah - had a fantastic time. Watching the kids watch the Electrical Parade was such a treat - they were so excited about it! Deanna and the kids left after that and the big kids went over to Disneyland and closed the park. We got to Disneyland just as the fireworks were starting and what a nightmare trying to get anywhere during the fireworks! We had to go through Tomorrowland to get to New Orleans Square - go figure!
But I have to tell a story about the roller coaster at DCA... So Deanna, Kris and I go on the roller coaster while Russ took the little ones over to the carousel (that was a tough call for me - I LOVE the carousel) - so we get up to the front and tell them there are three of us - so Deanna and Kris start walking over to the one line and I move into the next one just as the cast member yells "Single!" - now I'm thinking - Thanks - you had to announce to everyone that I'm single?! Well, I guess that's ok if there are cute guys hanging around - I didn't see any - dang it! As it turns out - the coaster pulling up had a single seat on it - guess it really wasn't all about me. God Bless Me!

Tough Day

Not sure what possessed me to write tonight - it's been a tough day - for a lot of us. Maybe I was feeling like it had been so long that I needed to post for my fans (you know who you are :)! ) - but in reality - I think I just needed to say a little about how I was feeling. Usually I would put this in my private journal - but I know there are more of you out there that are hurting and maybe I just wanted you to know that we can hurt together. Today we said goodbye to the Music Director of our church and his wife who were killed in a senseless car accident. And although God spoke through Pastor Craig who gave a wonderful sermon this morning and at the memorial service, I just don't understand. I don't understand how this could happen - why this would happen and mainly I don't understand why I'm struggling so much with this. We've only known Ron since March - but he took a chance on a couple of beginner guitar players and let them play in the band, he was relaxed and calm and so talented. He had such wonderful plans for the choir, the church and even those beginner guitar players. He had a sense of humor and made choir fun again - but most of all - I'll remember how he loved the cow bell on the drums! He will be missed - God Bless Ron and Kelly as they have moved on to live eternally with our Savior and King. Amen.

She's Baaaack...

That's right - BC (Bulimic Cat) made an appearance this evening - and life had been so good. Of course when does she decide to purge - just as I've perfectly timed my dinner to be done - the toast, bacon and eggs were nicely completed at the same time - and then I hear the cat! Lovely! At least she messed in her water dish and the placemat her bowls are on - easy cleanup. God Bless the little baby kitty!

And Where Have You Been, Missy?

So I stopped by my mom's this evening to fill up her pill boxes and she wasn't home. This was the second time in the last couple of days that she had been out and about when I came by. I was a bit surprised this evening though, it was around 8:45pm and she is usually in bed by 9pm. But I figured she must be with a friend or down in the rec room. So I put her phone back on the hook - yes, she had put the handset on wrong again - and I left, figuring I would call her when I got home. Called her when I got home - no answer... 9:15pm - no answer... 9:30pm - no answer... 9:45pm - no answer - wasn't all that worried at first because I know she has some friends that she gets together with - but now I was really getting worried... called again at 10pm and she finally answered the phone - at which point I said "And where have you been, Missy? Out holding hands with the boys?" She just laughed and said she had been downstairs in the rec room chatting. Yeah - I have turned into a mother - worrying about her kid breaking curfew and waiting up for her to come home - God Bless Her!

3:50pm The Next Day

I know, I know - it's been a week since my last post. It's been quite a hectic week - and I've been on vacation! So it's been go, go, go all week and today I finally got a chance to rest. Napped all afternoon and at about 3:50pm I woke up panicked that it was 3:50pm the next day and convinced that I had lost an entire day by sleeping. Took me a few moments to figure out that the next day was Monday and even longer to figure out that it really wasn't Monday, but it was still Sunday. I must have been a bit more tired than I thought. Crawled back into bed and slept until 6pm - I really took Craig's sermon about resting to heart! Am now getting ready to go to bed - but didn't want to let another day go by without posting. More stories from the week a little later.

Case Of The Sneezies

I've got a case of the sneezies tonight. I spent the day cleaning house - it's looking pretty good - but since I never dust - I stirred up all sorts of it today. Last time I clean my house! So today was the first day of VBS and it was a lot of fun - 175 kids signed up and we had a good time singing and putting on the puppet show. They are just such a blessing. That's all for tonight - literally spent the entire day cleaning house - so not much to report!

You Know You're Crazy

I had to make one more post tonight - so I was cleaning off my desk and found the Vacation Bible School CD and thought - I should at least listen to the theme song once or twice and practice the hand motions since we will be leading that tomorrow morning. So I'm here in the bedroom doing all the motions (the swimming, the diving, the surfing) - played it a couple of times to get used to it and when I'm done - I turn to take my stuff into the living room and there's the cat. Sitting in the doorway - looking at me like - you know you're crazy - of course I'm thinking - yeah - and I plan to be that way tomorrow as well - God Bless the Little Children and Sadie, too.

Good For You For Getting The Joke

Had dinner with my mom tonight - I picked her up and we stopped at In N Out and took it back to my place so she could see the cat and I could also show her the DVD of the talent show from last year. Now before you start thinking about how cheap I am to only take her to In N Out, you must know that this was her favorite place to go every Friday night for years when she was living in Alhambra. Was actually one of the indications that she had a memory problem a couple of years ago - I was up there visiting and we had been out at a craft fair and were driving to In N Out - on streets she should have known - and she admitted she didn't know where we were or how to get to In N Out. Anyway - so when I went to pick her up and she got in the car, she had forgotten her sunglasses - go figure - she forgot something, God Bless Her! She made the comment that she would just cover her eyes - and I said that people that are sitting in the passenger side of my car usually do that and she responded with - but I bet it's for a different reason! And all I could think was... you go mom - good for you for getting the joke! We had a nice dinner - and that cat even got up on the couch and sat with her - it made her evening.

Goodness...

I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted. Shame on me! Don't have a lot of mom stories to tell this week. Haven't been over there in several days and she has been pretty upbeat when I call her on the phone. At least I'm able to call her on the phone - that means she has figured out how to put the handset back! Speaking of the phone - I made some phone calls today to try to get some info on any financial aid she might qualify for - everyone wants to just send me info - I don't want any more stuff sent to me - obviously these people haven't seen my house - I save EVERYTHING! Just what I need - more clutter. The clutter will be gone in a couple of days though! That's one of my goals for the next week - Clean the House!
So Vacation Bible School is coming up this coming week - should be fun! And I'm on vacation! It will be wonderful to be off this coming week.
Not too much going on - so will end this for now - will try to be better about posting...

A Refreshing Change

Went by to see my mom this evening after work - hadn't been by since Saturday and she was doing well. Although the phone is still giving her some trouble - it was plugged in - but she had the handset on it wrong again. The best part, though, I didn't have to hear about the tooth - I did hear about her muscle damaged legs - from the cholesterol medication, of course - but that was a refreshing change! So I'm testing out a new theory about the tooth - I'm now thinking it might be an attention getter - I've noticed that when I go over more often - I don't hear so much about the tooth - but if I wait too long to go over and visit - then life is just miserable for her and she can't pay her bills and she can't go to the grocery store and she just feels lousy with this awful oozing tooth. So we'll see how it all plays out.
Not much else going on - except that I'm working on breaking the cat of her new habit of waking me up at 5:30am to be fed - that must stop. Otherwise - life is just plugging along for now. Have been enjoying practicing my guitar again for Vacation Bible School - CAN'T WAIT!
And I saw the new Harry Potter movie over the weekend - and I really liked it! I think it may be the best so far - and the music - fantastic - had to go out and buy the score on the same day and have had it playing in my car ever since - go figure! Ok - enough rambling for now...

Do Not Unplug

So life has gotten much better since Wednesday. I did go see my mom on Thursday morning and Friday morning and just got back from seeing her again - I know I'm asking for trouble! So Thursday morning she didn't remember any of the drama from the day before. Of course. The phone still wasn't working - even when I tried to switch phones. So I made an appt for them to come and fix it - that's why I went by on Friday - to tell her about the appt since her phone wasn't working - and wouldn't you know it - the phone worked fine on Friday morning - after I plugged it back in since my mom unplugged it AGAIN! So I put a sign next to the jack that says "DO NOT UNPLUG". At least when I went by this evening it was plugged in - of course the handset wasn't set properly on the phone so it was buzzing when I got there. Yep, she can't seem to figure out how to put the handset on the phone now. God Bless Her! Yeah - need to get my act in gear and get her moved!
And just when things were looking up with my mom - the bulimic cat is back - darn it! Maybe I need to break up her meal time into appetizer, main course and dessert! Ahhh... what we do for our four legged family members.
And have to tell one more story before going to bed... So I had to work today - no fun on a Saturday. My friend, Ron, was observing my class and so he and I went out and picked up lunch and were walking into the office to eat when we decided to have a picnic on the grass in the shade outside of the building - I had lawn chairs and a blanket and we just made the most of our Saturday lunch at work!

Four Times

So the birds are gone and I miss them - they disappeared last night while I was out. I saw a morning dove this morning in the parking lot and thought - is that one of mine?!
So I called my mom last night and the phone rang and rang and rang - meant to go see here after a meeting but was so tired - I went home and went to bed. Called again this morning on my way to work and it rang and rang and rang - so I thought I better stop by - I'm glad I did - but what a mistake and what a way to start my morning. She was in bed - and got up and told me about how depressed she was and I asked her about the phone and she told me it got messed up - so she put it away. I truly wonder what goes on in her mind about why the phone is messed up. So I went to plug it in and it wasn't working - then she was all upset because she said she can't keep up with the bills and has a hard time going to the grocery store - so I assured her I would help her out with all of that - told her I would stop by this evening and had a meeting that ran late - so will go by in the morning - she won't remember anyhow - and she will probably be fine and dandy tomrrow anyway. She did, however, make up for the 2 weeks that I haven't heard about the tooth - heard about it four times this morning - that's right - four times within about 10 minutes! And I used my new techniques that seemed to work ok on her end - the problem is my end - she doesn't remember - but I do - that's the tough part. Anyway... don't want to depress anyone - suffice it to say it was a tough morning. And so what am I doing tomorrow morning? Going by again - God Bless Her - and help me (I must be crazy)!

Siblings

So mama bird was around at 6am this morning to feed the little ones - then she seemed to disappear until about 6:30pm. They are still keeping each other company - this picture was taken this afternoon. Big Brother is the one in the back - you can't really tell from this picture - but he isn't as fuzzy as his little sibling. The little one took a few looks off the edge of the planter during the day - like he was ready to take the jump - but never did. I don't suspect they will be around much longer.
So the day didn't start all that great - and then went from bad to worse when I noticed the toilet running a little longer than it should have been - only to walk in and find water spilling out of the back tank! Dang! After the morning I had - it just made me cry. Called my best friend to ask for the number of a plumber and after describing the problem - she told me she could fix it. Yes, I probably could have fixed it myself - but never had to do home maintenance growing up - besides - that's why I surround myself with friends that can help! So Brandy came by and in the time it took me to find a wrench for her - it was done. Then we had dinner and wandered around the bookstore - a great end to a tough day. A nice distraction, Thanks, Brandy! That's it for now - didn't have the heart to call my mom today - will probably go and check in with her tomorrow - stay tuned!

Bird Stories

I've been thinking about sharing this for a while - but don't think I have yet. I have baby birds that are nesting in my hanging plant outside. This is the second batch - a month or so ago I got to watch two babies grow up together and I remember the last night they were in the planter - mom who was always with them during the night had left them alone. And I felt sad for them because they were by themsevles - the next morning mom came back and I could hear her cooing - and my the time I got out to the living room to look - they were gone. I missed them. So I was pleasantly surprised recently when another morning dove came by to lay eggs - must have heard what a great place it was - either that or it was the same mom - don't know much about birds and how often they lay eggs. So one of the birds hatched first - several days or so before the other one - and one day last week the older one got adventurous and tried to fly the coup - only to dive bomb onto the balcony - the cat practically ran into the screen door trying to get to it. I felt bad - so I picked it up and put it back in the nest with its sibling - only after I had read on the pioneer woman's blog that it is an old wife's tail about birds rejecting their young if you touch them - mom was more than happy to feed the little one when she got back. So last night the older one tried again and flew around the balcony a bit - I didn't put it back this time - I figured it was about time he learned to fly - but he spent the night on the floor of the balcony while his little sibling spent the night by himself in the nest - mom didn't come by that I noticed. This morning mom was back with the little one - but big brother was nowhere to be found. And when I left for the theater this evening the little one was all by himself. When I got back tonight (had a great time, by the way, it was hilarious) I checked on the little one and his big brother had come back to stay with him - it was very heartwarming. I know you probably think I've lost my mind to care so much about these birds that have nested in my plant (effectively killing the plant) but they are God's creature's also and Iwill miss them when they are gone. God Bless Them!

I Think That's A Record

Since I promised mom stories tonight - thought I better at least post one - so I went to my mom's the other night to check on her and not once did she mention her tooth - it's been about a week and half now and haven't heard about it at all - I think that's a record - of course, now that I'm prepared to deal with it - it's gone! God Bless Her!

Why Do They Always Travel With Their Lights Off?

I know, I know... it's been a couple of days - did you not read my last post - life has been hectic! :) So I get home tonight (after a great evening with my peeps) - and what do I see - a sherriff's car in the complex - I'm thinking - lovely - that's what I really like to come home to - and as I'm walking from my car to my condo - another shows up - with his lights off. Why do they always travel with their lights off? It's not like he was really sneaking up on anyone - there was another sherriff's car already in the complex! Anyway - enough for tonight - will post a couple of mom stories tomorrow.

Just Something Quick

Just something quick tonight - life has been hectic the first part of this week - a good hectic - but hectic all the same - will try to post more tomorrow night. For tonight - enjoy what has become one of my favorite pictures of the little one.

Just To See How You Are

One mom story for tonight. My mom used to call me every once in a while just to see how things were going. Over the last 6 months to a year - she's been calling for other reasons - reasons why I screen my phone calls. Tonight, however, she called "just to see how you are." That was it - plain and simple - that message is a keeper - God Bless Her.

She Can Eat It Off The Floor

So yesterday was a bit of a long day. Spent the morning into the afternoon at the beach - thanks, Kris, for coming down and hanging out with me. It was rather nice being out there in the early morning - peaceful, and got to see dolphins swimming through - we saw dolphins later in the day also. Of course I had to leave just as the party was getting started - but we sure had a good spot on the beach! Went to the Hollywood Bowl last night - and at one point was thinking - how cool is this - spent the day at the beach and now am spending the evening at a fabulous outdoor amphitheater! I love LA - and California! So in between the beach and the Bowl - I went home to shower and feed the cat. As I'm leaving I fill up Sadie's bowl with some food - figuring I'll feed her a little more when I get home. As I'm putting the cat food away - I didn't realize there was a hole in the bag - food - all over the kitchen floor. Of course, being the wonderful cat mommy that I am - rather than clean it up, I figure she can eat it off the floor if she gets hungry enough! Not really the best delayed food dispenser option, but it worked - all the food was gone when I got home which ended up being around 2am! The Bowl was great - if you've never been there - GO! We had a wonderful time - saw John Williams conduct the LA Philharmonic - and at the end of the performance, he did a selection of his from Star Wars and out came the light sabers - yes, there were members of the audience that brought light sabers - I've been to one of his concerts at the Bowl before - so it wasn't too much of a surprise for me - the funny part was the woman in front of us who lit it up during and encore selection from E.T. - wrong movie, sweetie! He did 2 encores and it was just fabulous! So between being at the beach at 7:30am and getting home at 2am - didn't do any posting last night - go figure.

Can I Take My Rocking Chair?

Going to keep it short tonight - must get to bed so I can get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow and go hang out at the beach - yippeeee! Thanks, Kris, for sacrificing your morning and joining me! Anywho... went by to do my mom's medication and the last three days were still in the pill box. I was very good and didn't get all pissy or lecture her or anything - tried to be pleasant and upbeat - and we talked about moving her into a place with some more supervision and she said she was ready - when I told her she woulddn't be able to take much furniture - she asked "Can I take my rocking chair" - this would be the chair she used to rock me in as a baby - of course she can keep the rocking chair - God Bless Her!

Individual Attention

Haven't posted any pictures lately - and so in honor of my dad (I miss him - he's in Idaho right now) - here's a picture from his front porch - God's Country. At the very bottom of the picture is the dirt road that leads to his home! He even has a barn - will post a picture of me riding the lawn mower in the future.
So, I finally made it to an Alzheimer's Support group tonight - only to have noone show up except the facilitators - wow - should have been going to the group earlier than this if the whole group has had their problems worked out and doesn't need support anymore! Apparently there was another meeting the night before that everyone must have attended. But what a blessing for me. When I got there - Gina (one of the facilitators) gave me a booklet of information - written and compiled by Liz (the other facilitator) - and since noone else showed up - I got individual attention from Liz (also a former Helpline Volunteer and caregiver). So I talked a bit about my mom and mentioned the fixation on her tooth and we spent most of the time talking about ways to communicate with my mom when she brings up the tooth - and there were several - DUH moments I had - you know - things that you should know, but can't figure out until someone else points them out. So I now have a strategy to use when my mom starts to complain about her tooth. So we'll see how it all works. So even though I was the only one that showed up - I truly got a lot of support!

I Am Blessed

Just got back from working out - my friend, Ron, and I have decided to be accountability partners on the whole workout thing - so we started tonight - we'll see how long it lasts! :) We worked out at his apartment complex because it has a great gym - and on my way over - I took a look out to Saddleback mountain and the surrounding mountians and the sun had just set and it was just beautiful - one of God's creations. So I didn't talk to my mom today - so no mom stories - but I wanted to take a moment to tell a work story - my friends at work know that I've been having a tough time lately with everything going on with my mom and where concerned when I called in sick yesterday - so today at lunch I walk over and my favorite trio of friends bought me a nice gardenia plant with a card and the cutest stuffed frog - and the sentiment they expressed in the card made me cry - they are truly a blessing. And speaking of friends - I just want each and every one of you that is reading this to know how blessed I feel to count you as my friend - you are very special in my eyes (in God's too) and you truly are the family that I have chosen! I am blessed.

Things Are Looking Up

And I didn't think I would have a mom story to share today. So she left me a message this afternoon to let me know that she got a notice from the pharmacy that there were prescriptions to be picked up - Vons, she thinks. Well, she's right about Vons - at the time I didn't think she was right about the phone call since there shoudn't be anything to pick up. So I call her to find out if the they told her what needed to be picked up - she said she didn't know - they left a message. What a feat that would be since I know the answering machine is unplugged and I highly doubt she has figured out plugging it back in. So I ask her to check to see if the machine is plugged in - I hear her fiddling with stuff for a minute or two and when she comes back - she reminds me about the pharmacy - and now she tells me she talked to them and told them she would have someone come pick it up. Ok. I ask her again about the machine and she tells me it isn't plugged in - what a surprise! So I contact the pharmacy and they don't know what I'm talking about - lovely. God Bless Her! The only thing I can figure out is that she had it written down on a note that didn't get thrown away the last time they called - or maybe they did call and don't want to own up to their mistake - either way - I do know this... A visit and two phone calls in the last two days and not once have I heard about the tooth! Things are looking up! At least for the moment.

And Hit Them Black And Blue

That wasn't so bad - went by my mom's to check on her and bring cookies that I forgot to bring over on Saturday. She seemed to be doing well. I gave her the daily calendar that I made to help her remember what day it is - explained it to her - she seemed very thankful. Filled up her medication pill boxes - looks like she has been taking at least the important morning medication. I went in there upbeat and she matched the mood. When I was leaving - she had to ask me what the daily calendar was for and I heard for the third time that she was getting ready to go to bed. God Bless Her! And as I start walking out the door she starts telling me about all the pictures she has on her wall - she tapes photos and calendar pages and greeting cards to the wall by her dining table - and she can actually tell me where most of them have come from. And right before I leave I tell her to "Sleep tight - don't let the bed bugs bite" and she joins in with the rest of the rhyme she taught me... "and if they do - get your shoe - and hit them black and blue." We had a nice laugh and she blew me kisses as I walked down the hallway - that's the mom I remember!

Two Visits In A Day

Thought I would change things up a bit and post early this evening - that and I need to go to my mom's in a bit - so I may post again later! So Saturday... went by early to see my mom so I could check on her medicaiton. At the time she seemed to be doing ok - was still in her pajamas and robe at 9:30am - I was jealous! For some reason I went into her bedroom and ended up finding her daily calendar that disappeared last week. And it said August 8th - she had pulled off a few too many pages. So I took the calendar and today put something together for her to use until I can bring the calendar back in August. So as I'm getting ready to leave on Saturday - she mentions she is going to go down to the store - well it was such a hot day - I really didn't want her walking down there - truth be told - she probably shouldn't be walking down there even when it isn't hot - anyway... so I told her I would stop at the store after my quilt work day and get groceries for her. I know this is going to sound terrible - but I just am not sure what possessed me to say I would come back. It didn't go as well when I dropped off the groceries. Now she was feeling lousy because her tooth is oozing and it leaves a bad taste in her mouth (I handed her the mouthwash I bought at the store - that seems to help with the pain - go figure) and at this point I'm just frustrated... we go 'round and 'round about the tooth and I finally ask her - what should we do and she suggests that maybe we should consult a dentist - of course now I just can't stop myself and a little more harshly than I intended, let her know that we did consult a dentist - earlier in the week - which she doesn't remember and then I have to remind her of the two other dentists we have consulted that have found nothing the matter. At that point I figure before I do too much more damage - I should go - the pathetic part - I'm sure she probably doesn't even remember the conversation - unlike me. Two visits in a day - I should have known better. So now I'm taking a poll - should I pull the tooth or not? Let me know your thoughts. Anyway - I'm on my way over there right now to drop off some stuff - make sure she is taking her medication - so there may or may not be another post this evening... stay tuned!

No Mom Stories Tonight

I had much too good a day to ruin it with mom stories. First service at church was a bit emotional for me - but I had a chat with God during communion (He's agreed to help me out - He's pretty amazing that way!). Unfortunately I was so not with it that I couldn't really enjoy the new contemporary service to its fullest extent - so am looking forward to next Sunday. Got my act together for second service - since I was liturgist and had the opportunity to help serve communion - what a blessing it was to do that. And then I spent the rest of the day at the Happiest Place on Earth with some very dear friends - and I just had a wonderful time with all of them - and the kids were such blessing - it really meant a lot to me that Lani wanted to sit on my lap on the train and during Fantasmic. It was just a great time and I look forward to our next visit - unfortunately, Teyo, it won't be tomorrow or the next day. When I got home - there were two messages and my first thought was - it's been such a great day - what is my mom calling to complain about or accuse me of tonight (God Bless Her) - but one was a wrong number and the other was from my other pea - leaving a rambling message - just like I've done on her phone so many times before - and it did make me laugh. It was a good day.

Ilizabett

Just a quick hit tonight - will have more mom stories tomorrow - the wounds are a little too fresh at the moment. And a shout out to my dinner pals - always nice to get together with you to take my mind off of life in general! So two things I wanted to share... first about the cat - anyone that says that cats are a lousy pet because they are so independent and don't have as good a personality as dogs - obviously has never had a cat. Sadie is a love who makes me laugh and even talks back to me - all the time! And the other thing... with a last name like mine - I'm used to people getting it wrong when they try to spell it - but Elizabeth - how difficult is that - I understand people spelling it with an s - however - Friday at Starbucks my name was Elizareth and my all time favorite came from Rubio's recently - Ilizabett - classic!

And She Had To Bring It Up...

So I wake up this morning - not to the lovely sound of music or birds singing - but the cat hacking! Yes, little Miss Lady Licks A Lot hacked up a hairball for me - and she really has a knack for doing it in the most traveled areas of the house. For those of you that don't know - little Miss Sadie has a licking fetish - very obsessive about it - she's a bit of a freak - just like her mom (the freak part, not the licking part). Ended up going in late to work this morning - although I wasn't teaching today so there really wasn't a set time I needed to be there - I woke up later than I had planned - I spent some time on the computer - looked up the blog of the pioneer woman - Hilarious! And, of course, I go into the bedroom right before I leave and find Sadie all stretched out on her window seat - had to get a picture and share - it almost kept me home today - all I could think about was stretching out and napping on the couch. So I finally wandered out the door and thought that I would call my mom - haven't talked to her in a couple of days - will see how she is doing. She never sounds very good when she first picks up the phone - but I always start out upbeat - as we talked she sounded good - I was feeling good about the conversation and we were just about to hang up - and she had to bring it up... "You or John need to make me a dental appointment because my tooth is oozing" - maybe I should have left the phone unplugged! I just don't know what to do with her - God Bless Her! I think I will take her in one more time to get her teeth cleaned - she's due for that and then anytime she wants another appointment - I'll tell her to call John because I know she won't! God help us both!

The Difficult Child

So I'm on a roll - so will post again - as addicting as this can be to read - I know a couple of you are stalking me! :) It is very addicting to write as well - I started this because I thought it might be theraputic in dealing with my mom and I was asked recently if it is - and I think it has been - it makes me look for the funny things I can share and the good moments. So yesterday morning I had to take my mom in for some bloodwork and did it early in the morning before I went to work - I thought about calling my mom on the way to pick her up - but for whatever reason I didn't - which as it turns out was just as well... So when I get to her place she is still getting dressed and I get to hear about how she was up earlier and then went back to sleep (I get to hear it about four more times). So as she is getting ready - I notice that her daily calendar is missing. So I ask her what happened to it and she says "I decided not to use it" - great, she had trouble figuring out what day it was when she did have it - and now she has made that all important decision not to use it! No wonder she thought it was August 7 earlier this week. Note to self - get her another calendar - QUICK! Then I notice that the telephone is unplugged - no wonder the answering machine didn't pick up the other day - and I guess it didn't really matter that I didn't call in the morning. I told her that she couldn't decide not to use the telephone - that wasn't an option. God Bless Her! So I'm talking to my friend, Cindy, last night and I hear her 2 year old in the background just screaming and I joke with her that I was that type of kid - "the difficult child" I think is what my mother used to say - in fact that's probably one of the things she still remembers! And I'm telling Cindy that my mom used to tell me that she hoped that I would have a child just like me. And Cindy says - "You do, your mom!" Yeah - who's the difficult child now?! I think that is about all for now - had a nice 4th - stayed close to home and got together with a few friends for dinner. Very low key and relaxing. Hope you all had a happy and fun and safe 4th. Until next time...

H2O

I know, I know... I haven't posted in a couple of days! So I wanted to get at least a little something up tonight - in case I don't get to all I want to talk about just yet. The cat is laying in front of the monitor with her tail swishing on the keyboard - makes it interesting to try to type! Anyway... I forgot to tell a story about Sea World last weekend - so thought I would include it now and also experiment a little with putting pictures in the blog. I was trying to put two pictures in - but for the moment it doesn't seem to be working - so will stick with this one at the moment and figure it all out later. This is Shamu - in case you were wondering. So we were sitting and waiting for one of the shows to start and the preshow guy comes out with his guitar and starts singing some songs - he asks the audience to yell out the chemical formula for water - and the kid in front of us yells "AGUA"! Nice.

I AM Your Daughter

My blog was looking a bit boring - so thought I would share this picture of Sadie - I caught her reading my blog earlier this evening - I think I shared before that this has become one of her favorite places to be - usually she likes to stand in front of the monitor - so this is a bit unusual that she was laying down - and I keep my desk like my house - a mess! Even though in the Network class at church I was classified as a Structured People person - I like piles - not files for all of my stuff! And here comes the little one now - luckily she has found some paper to chew on in at the corner of my desk. Anywho... so this morning it was off to the dentist with my mom - this is the specialist that did her root canal a year ago - the one who I cried in front of when he told me the price - it was before we had insurance - it's expensive! When I went to pick her up this morning she was all unhappy that she had an upset stomach from all the stuff oozing out of her tooth. Or course the dentist couldn't find anything the matter with the tooth. He was very nice - he came out to the waiting room to talk to me and said that he had done everything he could think of and he just didn't think there was anything the matter. I think he was worried I'd be upset that he couldn't find anything - but I told him that I didn't think anything was the matter either that it was the dementia and that she just fixates on things. I even told him I gave her tic tacs and told her they were antibiotics that would make her feel better - they didn't - but he chuckled about that. He was very compassionate and I could tell in his eyes that he really did feel for me and what I must be going through. Of course - I'm still back where I was - I'm concerned that even if we pull the tooth - she may still have a problem. Not sure what I'm going to do - she seemed to be doing better when we left the dentist. On the way home she told me (several times) about getting a sunburn when she first moved down here because the sun is so much more intense in this area than in the Pasadena area! God Bless Her! We did have a nice laugh on the way home. I offered to go to the grocery store for her on my way home from work tonight since it's been so hot and I didn't want her to have to go out in the afternoon sun (of course last time I went to the store for her - she went anyway and ended up with twice as much stuff). While I was driving she started telling me her grocery list - I told her she needed to wait until I could write it down and looked at her and said "I AM your daughter after all" - it took a moment but the joke wasn't wasted on her - we both had quite the hearty laugh - these are the times I really want to remember.